MADD Regina inaugurated their Project Red Ribbon campaign in November to promote sober driving during the holidays. MADD were requesting participants to fasten ribbons to their vehicles, key chains, purses and holdalls to show their united commitment to clear-headed driving. 听听听听
听鈥淲hen you see a ribbon, people are taking the responsibility of not driving impaired,鈥� said Dawn Regan, the CEO for MADD Canada. Yet, the ribbon also had a dual purpose in recollecting the memories of those who鈥檝e been killed or battered as the result of some reckless decisions made while get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol, cannabis, prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and other compromising substances.
Drinking and driving remains one of Canada鈥檚 serious issues. In fact, impaired driving is still the leading cause of fatal collisions in Saskatchewan. There is also an age element to this story. According to SGI, inexperienced drivers 鈥� especially those aged 16-20 鈥� are at a greater peril of crashing after boozing, even after consuming small amounts of alcohol. However, alcohol can have a devastating influence on drivers of all ages and abilities.
Alcohol is an addictive substance capable of affecting a person鈥檚 judgments, decision making skills, memory and the capacity to learn. Alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream at a speedy rate. Alcohol penetrates the central nervous system and modifies the brain鈥檚 functions, so the substance can produce a definite impact upon an individual鈥檚 aptitude in driving and other skills requiring concentration. Although there鈥檚 nothing immoral about having a few drinks from time-to-time, driving while intoxicated is always precarious for anyone. Since alcohol might produce significant effects on motor and coordination skills, driving while drunk might be considered a suicidal act, conscious or not. Moreover, inebriated drivers place passengers and other motorists at risk. Drunk drivers possess haphazard reaction times as they encounter threats on the road. Drunk or high drivers lack perceptive skills. Impaired motorists possess a sharp degeneration in judgement.
Drug-impaired driving on cannabis, antihistamines and other mind controlling substances can also affect an individual鈥檚 driving skills.听听听听
A common misperception about smoking cannabis and driving has remained in the mindset of many recreational tokers. Some have concluded cannabis usage immediately before driving could be beneficial for the motorist, giving them a pronounced ability to concentrate. A minority of cannabis users will say drivers are more cautious on the road after taking a puff or two. But smoking cannabis and then driving without an 8-10 hour stretch in between can produce the same devastating results as driving on the bottle might.
In a study by R. Andrew Sewell, James Polling and Mehmet Sofuoglu titled The effect of cannabis compared with alcohol on driving, the academics wrote 鈥渕arijuana smokers tend to compensate effectively for their impairment by utilizing a variety of behavioural strategies such as driving more slowly, passing less and leaving more space between themselves and cars in front of them.鈥� The paper also reported on the findings of a U.S. study in 1993 in the United States, concluding marijuana use while driving had contributed to the deaths of 168 fatally-injured truck drivers. The authors noted there were inconsistencies in much of the data related to car accidents and reefer, as most cannabis-related incidents often included the mixture of other drugs such as alcohol, but countless studies have proven the substance affects motor skills..
In Saskatchewan, vehicles are seized whenever a motorist鈥檚 blood alcohol rate ranges from .04 to .08 on the first offence. Also, drugged driving isn鈥檛 tolerated in the province. Drivers caught impaired or over the provincial limit for drugs and alcohol will encounter administrative penalties apart from criminal charges. There is encouraging news, so people in Saskatchewan must be getting the message. Along with other related downward trends, the number of injuries involving alcohol and drug-related collisions slid by 23.5 per cent since 2013 from 606 to 359 injuries in 2018.听听听听听 听听听听听
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