The Carnage goes on....

Last year at this time I wrote about our young people dying at the rate of two per week in totally preventable auto crashes. Have things improved? Sadly, the answer is no.

It seems that every week brings another horrific story of our youth dying or being seriously injured while speeding, driving while impaired by drugs and/or alcohol or road racing. The youth involved have come from all over the Province and crossed over all demographic lines. They have been rich, they have been poor, they have been licensed and unlicensed, and they have been pre-teens, young teens and young adults. What they have in common is that each of their deaths or injuries could have and should have been prevented. Each death or injury brought with it pain and grief and loss to individual families, friends and neighbours and the community as a whole.

Last year's report from the B.C. Children's Commissioner clearly illustrated that car crashes continue to be the biggest risk British Columbian's face from the day they are born until they are nineteen years old. That hasn't changed.

The Commissioner stated, "With car crashes, it seems harder to get the message through, maybe because we have come to accept this deadly toll as a natural hazard in our modern world. Can you imagine the public outrage if two young people were murdered every week, or died from AIDS? Yet the number of young people killed in car crashes works out on average to two a week, with another two hundred fifty injured every week."

Are we as a society really willing to accept the unnecessary preventable deaths of two of our youths per week as "a natural hazard in our modern world"? We think not. So what can we do about it?

There is a lot being done right now. ICBC provides information and materials to child care centers, pre-schools and elementary schools so that they may begin educating children about traffic safety and the use of seat belts at a young age. Many high schools have a "Don't Drink and Drive Week" and other road safety events throughout the year. Community businesses support traffic safety events like Bootlegger's Bootlegger Against Drinking and Driving campaign. ICBC offers information sessions for parents of young drivers.

In recent weeks RRID has attended, observed and participated in many different programs aimed at getting the message to young drivers. ICBC and Insurance Brokers combine their efforts in the RoadSense Program and presented the Drive Program and hypnotist Marc Savard. Doctors, Nurses and Emergency Personnel presented the Party Program. Each of these programs brought strong, hard hitting messages designed to save lives and reduce crashes. Each of these messages was presented directly to youth.

But are they getting the message? Anyone who watches the news or reads the paper knows they are not. It seems every week we hear of more young people dying and being seriously injured in totally preventable auto crashes. So what else can we do?

We believe society as a whole must play a larger role in keeping our youth alive. Our love affair with the automobile and the glamorization of speeding down the highway is a major influence on our youth. Somehow, we must change that image and show them that speed kills. There is nothing glamorous about a smashed car and mangled bodies.

Adults must provide better role models. Our leaders including the Premier of BC, the Metchosin Fire Chief and the President of the BC Law Society must set a better example. The constant parade of impaired driving arrests of prominent leaders in our community, the road rage incidents and other examples of dangerous driving show our youth that many adults are not responsible behind the wheel. Parents must talk to their children about traffic safety but it will have little impact if we model disrespect for speed limits, impaired driving laws and other traffic rules.

The Provincial Government is considering changes to the graduated licensing program to make it more effective in reducing the number of young people being killed in motor vehicle crashes. We will soon have new laws relating both to the Graduated Licensing Program and Impaired Driving in B.C. The Provincial Government has released two Discussion Papers and a questionnaire for public input, one paper on Drinking and Driving Issues and Strategies and one on Proposed Graduated Licensing Changes. We urge you to read the discussion papers which can be found at www.pssg.gov.bc.ca./legislation or you can find a direct link at RRID's website at www.rrid.org. Read them, discuss them with your friends and family and then submit your view to both the Provincial Government and RRID. Share your views with the government who will review the input and select the proposals for consideration by cabinet.

But no matter how carefully the laws are crafted laws alone will not stop the carnage. It is so sad and senseless to see our youth dying in totally preventable car crashes. It is frustrating that we cannot seem to reach them. But does that mean we should give up? NO! It means we must be more creative and find other ways to get the message across to our kids. We must find a way to let our young people know that we are not willing to accept their dying in car crashes at the rate of two per week as a "natural hazard in our modern world".

We can begin by working together as a community; all the adults, community leaders, parents, friends and family must demonstrate good road sense. We will have to change our attitudes about speeding, fast cars and alcohol before we will ever be able to change the behaviour of our young people. We must set a much better example for them to follow. We must do all we can to reduce the carnage on the roads and we must start now.

Joan Parsons
President
Rid Roads of Impaired Drivers

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