A new sign campaign began on April 1 as a partnership between MADD, SGI, and the Moose Jaw Police Service to help residents see the dangers that impaired driving poses to people in the community.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), and the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) will be placing signs around the community to show where impaired drivers have been caught.
The campaign will raise awareness of the consequences of driving impaired and encourage the public to help by reporting unsafe drivers.
“A lot of the enforcement that occurs within the city of Moose Jaw comes from phone calls that we receive from the public,” said Staff Sgt. Taylor Elder of the MJPS. “We are a smaller police service here, so for us to have cooperation from the public if they see an impaired driver, or someone who they suspect to be impaired, it’s very helpful for us.”
Destiny Schaffer, community leader for MADD Moose Jaw, whose sister was killed by a drunk driver in 2018, said that the signs serve to educate the public on their role in helping the police get impaired drivers off the roads.
“The public can see firsthand that their calls truly make a difference,” Schaffer said. “The signs also act as a deterrent to anyone who would ignore the law and take the risk of driving impaired. And it is a risk. It’s a risk that can result in a tragedy, as my family knows all too well with the death of my sister Demi McKechnie.”
The City of Moose Jaw was represented at the campaign’s kick-off by Mayor Clive Tolley, Chief of Police Rick Bourassa, and Dawn Luhning, city councillor and chair of the Police Commission.
Tim McLeod, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Moose Jaw North, was there on behalf of the province, and SGI was represented by communications officer Michaela Solomon.
Tolley and McLeod both gave remarks thanking the organizers of the campaign and pledging support from the city and province.
Chief Bourassa said, “Last year, 2021, we encountered 126 incidences of impairment. And we know that that’s not all of the incidences that occurred. We know we just touched the tip of the iceberg.”
Bourassa added that over the years there have been significant reductions in impaired driving thanks to hard work, education, and enforcement, and called the sign campaign another step towards education.
Elder said they want the signs to show that impaired driving is not an isolated concern. It’s not just people driving from bar to bar downtown, he said, this is people driving by our schools and our playgrounds where our children are present.
Elder said that members of the public should consider their personal safety and the safety of the public when deciding whether to follow someone they suspect of impaired driving.
“I would never encourage someone to follow somebody who’s not driving safely,” he said. “Now, that being said, if the person might be driving at relatively low speeds, and you don’t think it’s a danger to follow them, it’s definitely helpful for us to have somebody who’s following the person in real-time and relaying that information to us.”
If the person is driving recklessly, police don’t want other people trying to follow them and increasing the chances of collisions and/or causing more harm – a following driver is still responsible to obey traffic laws and is liable for the damage they do.
When asked where the line is drawn for calling the police, and how sure a person should be that impairment is a concern, Elder said that the public should call anytime.
“I can’t stress enough that the MJPS is a service, right? It’s a service that you’re paying for through your tax dollars. If you think that something seems fishy or suspicious, call us. That’s why we get paid.”
Elder continued, “It’s never a waste of our time to go and check out a citizen’s concern. So don’t ever hesitate to call the police.”
