About RRID
RRID was founded in Nanaimo, in 1992 when a group of concerned citizens saw a need in the community. And why were those citizens concerned? Most of us like me had had their lives changed forever by an impaired driver, others had not, but each of us was aware of the high cost that the community pays for the actions of impaired drivers. Then we read a headline in a local paper that said, "It's not safe to drive in Nanaimo after 10:00 on a Saturday night" a quote from a local RCMP official. He then went on to say, there were too many impaired drivers on the roads on the weekends for it be safe for other drivers. We took those words as a call to action and we formed RRID. Originally, our intent was to stay focused on Vancouver Island. We felt if we could end impaired driving there we could then spread our message to the rest of the world. But along the way a funny thing has happened and our message is going further than we had ever imagined.
Our goal then and still today: is to enlighten and inform; working to keep traffic safety a public issue, providing education and finding effective solutions to prevent impaired driving while applying pressure to the courts for adequate sentencing of impaired drivers. And of course, we offer support to the victims of impaired drivers.
We have strived to stay a grass roots organization run by unpaid volunteers. We want to be free to support, endorse or protest provincial and federal legislation; we want to be able to speak out on any occasion or issue that affects traffic safety.
R.R.I.D. is a Registered Society of B.C. and a Charity under the Income Tax Act of Canada. We are a grassroots organization operating from a home-based office. We are all volunteers and have no paid staff so our overhead is low. We do not receive any funding other than our membership fees, donations and our own fund raising efforts.
Is there a need for a grassroots community organization like R.R.I.D. to participate in the battle to end impaired driving? We believe the numbers speak for themselves. Every six hours an impaired driver kills someone in Canada, every twenty minutes an impaired driver injures someone. These are staggering statistics. We all pay a high cost for impaired driving. The cost in dollars is overwhelming but the cost in human suffering is immeasurable. Statistics describe the size of the problem but fail to convey the human dimension.
R.R.I.D. invites you to be part of the solution. This is your chance to make a difference. Let's work together for a safer community!
Joan Parsons
President
Rid Roads of Impaired Drivers