York police launch their festive RIDE campaign in King
By Bill Rea
York Regional Police acknowledged a sad anniversary last Tuesday at the kickoff of the 2007 Festive RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) campaign.

This group gathered outside Cardinal Golf Cast Tuesday to officially launch the Festive Season Enhanced RIDE program. It included Scott Crone of Allstate Insurance; Mayor Margaret Black; Transportation Minister Jim Bradley; Margaret Williams, president of the York Region Chapter of MADD; former Toronto Maple Leaf Kris King; York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge; and CITY TV's Kevin Frankish.

Ion Mihaila, 66, of Vaughan, lost his life in a three-vehicle crash Nov. 27, 2004 on Highway 9, near Cardinal Golf Club, which is where the kick-off was held. Alcohol was a factor in this mishap.

This year's campaign is dedicated to Mr. Mihaila's memory, and representatives of his family were on hand for last Tuesday's event.

"Despite the passage of three years, I know they miss Ion every day," Chief Armand La Barge commented.

The festive campaign is an annual activity at the holiday season, but as CITY TV's Kevin Frankish, emcee at the event, observed, drinking and driving is not confined to this one time of the year.

Police conducted a RIDE spot check as part of last Tuesday's launch. Constable Brian Rollason was among those checking drivers on Highway 9.

"Unfortunately, it's a year-round problem," he remarked. "It's definitely something we need to talk about, need to work on."

La Barge stressed how anxious they are to eliminate this problem from the roads in York. He added the drinking driver involved in Mr. Mihaila's death had previously been involved in a fatal accident.

He pointed out drinking and driving does become more common this time of year, but that doesn't excuse getting behind the wheel after having too much. "We know that impaired driving is no accident," he said, adding it's both selfish and preventable, as well as the main criminal cause of death in Canada.

La Barge said there are 2.3 million cases of people driving while impaired in Canada annually

He had lots of praise for other programs aimed at combatting this problem, such as the Safe Roads . . . Your Call campaign, which encourages motorists to call 9-1-1 if they spot a driver who they suspect is impaired. "That call may save a life or prevent someone from being seriously injured," he remarked, adding the program is being adopted in other jurisdictions, such as St. John, New Brunswick.

But there have still been more than 100 people killed across Canada this year because of drinking and driving. "Behind these statistics are the families who have been torn apart," La Barge observed.

"It's always somebody else, until it's somebody close to you," remarked Transportation Minister Jim Bradley.

He pointed out this is the 30th year of RIDE, which started as a project in Etobicoke and spread.

He stressed RIDE is a good tool, in terms of public education and awareness, as well as prevention.

Bradley warned an impaired driving conviction can cost more than $20,000, in terms of fines, legal fees and increased insurance rates, not to mention jobs, family, friends or a life.

In terms of stopping drinking and driving in its tracks, Bradley pointed to how a driver's licence could be suspended for 12 hours if one is marginally impaired. The government is working on increasing that to a three - day suspension for the first offence.

Although people are still dying as a result of this, Bradley said the latest trends are encouraging, as the numbers have been dropping over the last couple of years. In 1977, there were 535 drinking drivers involved in fatalities in Ontario. In 2005, that number was down to 155. "The number we'd like to see, of course, is the number zero," he declared.

Even if the numbers have been dropping, there are still too many examples of the tragedy that drinking and driving causes in York, and Margaret Williams, president of the local chapter of Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD), reviewed many of these incidents.

"Every year, the list becomes longer," she lamented, calling those who caused these incidents "Selfish and irresponsible."

Williams said MADD Canada plans to hand out more than three million Red Ribbons this year, hoping people will attach them to the aerials of their cars, both in honour of the victims and as a statement of their commitment to drive safe and sober.

Scott Crone, of Allstate Insurance, said he company is proud to sponsor the Red Ribbon program, adding each of their policy holders would be getting a ribbon in the mail.

There was also a presentation from the Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) from Cardinal Carter Catholic High School in Aurora.

"We care about reducing the number of lives taken by this careless act," remarked Cassandra Rubletz. "Friends don't let friends drink and drive, and impaired driving is no accident."

Kris King, who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the '90s, praised the campaign, speaking from the point of view of a father with kids who are starting to drive.

He pointed out kids at that age consider themselves invincible, believing nothing will happen to them. But he also observed that as a father, enduring a short night of sleep going out to pick up the kids is not that big a deal, compared to the alternatives.