It seems the provincial government has been reading the playbook of local law enforcement.
The government announced a series of pilot projects on Monday to reduce impaired driving across Saskatchewan. Some of them will likely be familiar with local residents.
For example, there’s a positive ticketing idea. Remember earlier this year, when some people in Estevan left their vehicles overnight at local licensed establishments, and upon returning the next day, found what appeared to be tickets on the windshields? They proved to be gift certificates, left by members of the Estevan Police Service as a reward for finding a safe ride home.
Well, the provincial government has announced tickets will be handed out to sober drivers at check stops and routine traffic stops.
There are also sobering messages and packaging information to be handed out. It sounds similar to the candy canes the EPS handed out at check stops before Christmas in 2016, with messages from local children attached.
There has been a lot of discussion about impaired driving in the community and in the province during the past few years, and how it can be curbed. It’s encouraging to see the provincial government seems to be borrowing some of the ideas that have been used here.
Whether they will work on a province-wide scale has yet to be seen.
Perhaps the most interesting concept introduced by the government this week would be bar dollars. Bar patrons will be asked if they would like to put a small amount of money toward a tab for a designated driving service. This amount of money will be matched by the provincial government.
The government wants to know if this would increase the likelihood of bar patrons planning ahead for a safe ride home.
We’re sceptical whether this would ultimately make much of a difference. You might get a small number of civic-minded bar patrons willing to donate towards the bar dollars, but it likely wouldn’t be enough, especially in rural communities, where impaired driving rates are high.
Saskatchewan’s impaired driving rates are the highest in the country by a wide margin. And while we’ve seen some positive trends, such as a decrease in the number of impaired driving fatalities in Saskatchewan in recent years, the rates are still high.
Some ideas have panned out. Others have not.
The positive ticketing initiative in Estevan was a good idea. It was a positive public relations idea, and people were rewarded for finding a safe ride home. Local residents posted the photos of their gift certificates on social media.
It’s also good publicity for the participating businesses.
We know the dangers associated with drunk driving, and the negative repercussions it can have. Yet some people insist on driving while drunk.
It’s one thing if someone is caught driving while slightly above the legal limit. But it’s another issue altogether when someone is caught driving while grossly impaired, or if they are caught for a second or even a third time.
Why don’t they learn?
Local police officers should be encouraged that their ideas to curb impaired driving and reward designated drivers seems to be embraced by the provincial government.
Hopefully those ideas work as well in other jurisdictions as they did here.
