Summertime is the best time of the year for most people, with the hot weather and sunshine luring people outside to enjoy nature with their families and friends, to go travelling or to just have a day at the beach or on the lake.
For some people, fun in the sun also means imbibing with a cold beer or some other favourite alcoholic beverage, and while most people do handle this in a responsible manner, Saskatchewan residents continue to post a high rate of impaired driving, which is alarming in light of the resulting tragedies and charges that result.
To try and address the incidence of impaired driving, the laws that lay out the consequences of drinking and driving were toughened recently.
SGI has served notice that they are taking their new strengthened laws seriously, and recently filed a statement of claim in Court of Queen’s Bench against two liquor establishments that served Catherine McKay.
SGI is alleging that these establishments served her alcohol, and she then got behind the wheel while she was drunk and killed the Van De Vorst family in a horrific accident.
In announcing the first-ever lawsuit under the new legislation, Earl Cameron, executive vice-president of SGI, said, “This legal action is about accountability for a collision that killed an entire family. … When a business is selling alcohol for profit, there is a higher degree of responsibility.”
Those who drive also have a responsibility, to themselves, their families and friends, and to other members of society who share the road, or in the summertime, share the lakes and campgrounds that are available for the public to use and enjoy.
When alcohol is a factor in nearly half of all fatal traffic accidents in Saskatchewan, it is clear that the message needs to be emphasized and promoted until it is in the conscience of society itself. Over the last decade, more than 600 people have lost their lives, with more than 4,000 injured in collisions involving alcohol in this province.
People often ask, “What does it take for people to get the message? More deaths?” People are dying, and are getting hurt, and this needs to stop.
Much like peace begins with each person making the conscious decision to act peacably, responsible driving starts with each person making the decision not to get behind the wheel to drive, even when they don’t believe they’re too drunk to drive.
