There is no excuse to drink or do drugs and drive.
Much has been made this month of Alexa’s Team—a policing program created 10 years ago and named after Alexa Middelaer, a four-year-old Delta girl who was killed by a drunk driver while feeding a horse on a country road.
Three Shuswap RCMP officers were named to the 2018 team, meaning they removed at least 12 drivers each through Criminal Code charges or automatic 90-day roadside suspensions. In 2017, these members of Alexa’s Team removed 76 impaired drivers from our roads. Provincially, the team removed 7,157 drivers from the road. In 10 years, Alexa’s Team has processed nearly 87,000 impaired driving sanctions. Those numbers are mind-boggling in this day and age.
One of the messages that needs to stick with people, is there is no excuse to drink and drive.
There are numerous ways to get home safely if you’ve been imbibing—and that goes for both alcohol and drugs.
Find a friend or family member who can pick you up and take you home after a night of partying. Make the plans before you leave the house. Take a bus home. Call a taxi. Stay overnight.
We struggle to understand why someone would get into their vehicle to drive drunk, when there are other, safe options.
You may think you’re getting away with it because you haven’t hurt anyone. Sooner or later though, the statistics will catch up with you. So just don’t do it.
-Black Press