'Shocking' increase in young impaired drivers prompts community response in Dryden, Ont.
Dryden and Ignace Area Impaired Reduction Strategy gets $90K grant for education, awareness campaign
A community-based group in northwestern Ontario is joining provincial police and the regional health unit to combat the problem of drinking and driving, especially among younger adults.
The Dryden and Ignace Area Impaired Reduction Strategy (DAIRS) has received a $90,000 grant from the proceeds of crime fund to launch an awareness campaign.
The collaboration comes as good news to OPP Sgt. Michelle Teeple, who is based in Dryden.
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About a year ago, as she was crunching some numbers, she noticed that over a three-year period, arrests of impaired drivers had risen significantly, while at the same time those drivers were getting younger and younger.
"There was shock, jaws dropping, everyone was really surprised by this. It was really disappointing," she said because up to that point people believed that younger drivers had got the message about the dangers of mixing alcohol and trying to safely steer a vehicle.
'Ripples through the whole community'
"We talked about the impacts that an impaired driving arrest makes on a person, a family, friends, community. It affects everybody," she said. "Getting an arrest, losing a job, maybe losing a life — that ripples through the whole community."
That's why Teeple is pleased to see so many different groups coming together to work on an education campaign aimed at those younger drivers.
DAIRS and the Northwestern Health Unit are advertising for the position of a temporary coordinator who will deliver the Prevent Alcohol Related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y ) program in the high schools. The program has hospital, police, fire, judiciary, the insurance industry and the school board teach young people about the lifetime ramifications and consequences associated with impaired driving.
'A community issue, not just a policing issue'
Money from the grant will also be used to purchase a Simulated Impaired Driving Experience (SIDNE) unit and a Driver Interactive Machine. The devices simulate impaired and distracted driving scenarios and their possible consequences.
Drinking and driving is "a community issue, not just a policing issue. We're part of the puzzle in this, but it's great to see people working together on a common cause," said Teeple.