Check back often for stories on community events, new research, features on community groups and personal stories from people, like you, who wanted to speak their mind and change the conversation.
Congratulations to Dustin who is our lucky winner for our June blog contest! You will receive an email from one of our staff in the coming days.
Thank you to all those who submitted their comments, shared and tweeted the contest and liked our pages.
Keep an eye out for next contest announcement in July!
Are you one of the many young Canadians who have made the conscious decision to not drink and drive? Change the Conversation and Young Drivers of Canada want to reward you by giving you the chance to win some great stuff this summer with your first chance being this very blog post! Answer the question below and have your name put in a draw for a $50 gift card from Best Buy.
If you’ve heard our PSAs playing on the radio you’ll know that passengers share the same fate as their drinking drivers. So our question to you is:
What percentage of Canadians say that they don’t ride with a drinking driver?
Need a hint?
How to Enter: Post your answer to the above question in the Comments section of this post.
Want Additional Entries? Here’s how.
* Like Change the Conversation and Young Drivers of Canada on Facebook
* Follow @ChangetheConvo and @YoungDrivers on Twitter
* Tweet this contest and leave a link to your tweet in the comment section below. Here’s an example tweet:
Enter to win a $50 Best Buy Gift Card. Contest ends June 22 http://bit.ly/L3ANh6 @ChangetheConvo @YoungDrivers #speakurmind
For all of the additional entries above that you qualify for, please leave a comment so it can be verified.
This contest closes Friday June 22th, 2012 at 11:59 EST. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced here the following week. Good luck!
I am a recently retired RCMP officer from Nova Scotia where close to half of my 36 year career was spent on Highway Patrol. Some areas where I worked had serious impaired driving problems but no dedicated traffic unit, so we did it all. Today I heard a radio spot from Change the Conversation that referred to the number of crash victims who ride with drinking drivers.
For a long time now I have advocated that this is an important part of the problem and efforts are needed to address it. Many cases I dealt with involved victims who chose to travel with a drinking driver; usually a friend.
It was great to hear this message.
Paul C.
RCMP (Retired)
Nova Scotia
In 2005, Health Canada held cross-country consultations on substance abuse and identified alcohol misuse as an issue that required coordinated action. As a result, the National Alcohol Strategy Working Group was formed. The Working Group was led by a partnership between Health Canada, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, and the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission and includes representatives from federal and provincial/territorial governments, non-governmental organizations, treatment agencies, and the alcohol industry.
Since the early 1980s, the alcohol-crash problem in Canada has declined dramatically, but driving under the influence of alcohol remains a significant health and safety issue. At the same time, greater public and political attention is now being directed at driving under the influence of drugs. While this issue has yet to elicit the level of concern that surrounds drinking and driving, it has become a recognized road safety issue of its own.
Courtesy of Edmonton Police Service
Curb the Danger is a traffic safety initiative that was introduced by the Edmonton Police Service as a pilot project in October 2006. The motoring public is asked to call 9-1-1 when they observe a vehicle being driven in an erratic manner that would lead them to believe that the driver is possibly impaired. A successful pilot project led the program to become permanent in 2007. When it is determined that a reported vehicle is being followed and if the following can be done safely, the license plate number, description of the vehicle, direction of travel, and detailed driving pattern are recorded. If possible, a Response Unit is dispatched to intercept the vehicle, determine the cause of the erratic driving and take appropriate action. If an interception is not possible and sufficient information is available, a letter is sent to the registered owner outlining the event as reported. Continue reading →
From a Queens University student
I cannot imagine taking someone’s life because of my careless action of choosing to drink and drive let alone being the passenger of a friend who is under the influence. Can you fathom hurting your friends and family because you had one too many drinks? I am all for having a great night out, but I choose to split a cab or spend the night crashing on a friends couch as opposed to ending up without my licence, in jail, or on the side of the road. No one wants to be hungover and in jail!
Living in the city – I know there is always a safer way home than getting into a car with someone who has been drinking. The subway runs late and cabs are all around. Once when I was at a party I could see my friends were going to be too out of it to get themselves home. I held up on my drinking and made sure I was sober at the end of the night to borrow a friend’s car to take them home. I knew they were getting home safe. You always hear about teens being injured or killed with “alcohol as a factor” and I want to avoid the statistic.
— LAC, Ontario, Canada
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