Fatal crashes caused by impaired drivers jumped last year in Nova Scotia

Every time a man walks by wearing her son's cologne, Marion Goulding tenses up. In that moment, a good day goes bad.

Her 21-year-old son Gregory died in October 2015 when the car he was a passenger in left the road, flipped about five times and landed in a ditch in Beaver Bank, N.S.

The car's driver was drunk. He had been Gregory's best friend since they were three years old.

Goulding had hoped in the years since her son's death, that the number of fatal crashes caused by impaired driving would have dropped off.

They haven't.

Last year marked a six-year high for deadly car crashes caused by impaired drivers in areas of Nova Scotia policed by the RCMP, according to data collected by the force, which patrols many rural parts of the province along with several Halifax-area suburbs.

"That's sickening, it really is," said Goulding, "I can't believe in this day and age people will still get behind the wheel when they're drinking or have other substances in their bodies."

There were 31 fatal collisions caused by impaired drivers in 2020 in RCMP-patrolled areas,even though pandemic travel restrictions cut down on road traffic for part of the year.In 2019, there were 18 crashes, and thenumbers hit a low of eight in 2018.

In 50 per cent of the 2020 crashesthe impaired driver ended up dying.

Pandemic stress and boozy backyard parties may all have played a role in driving up those numbers, said Cpl. Mike Carter, with RCMP traffic services.

"With the bars closed, backyard drinking parties seemed to have increased, which may be a contributing factor," he said.

When bars are open police can focus their patrols in those areas and spot drinkers who might try to drive away.

The pandemic changed all that.

"We're now targeting places of increased risk of consumption, or excessive consumption. But because a lot of these are coming from private functions or residences, the public's calls on 911 to report possible impaired drivers is critical to our success," said Carter.

Carter said it's much harder for police to patrol a large residential area looking for impaired drivers than it would be to focus on a community's downtown core.

Goulding's son Gregory died trying to get from the Halifax-area community of Beaver Bank to nearbySackville. Gregory was out partying when his friend, Anthony Lloyd Cox, offered to drive him and some others home.

Cox admitted to drinking four beers and four shots of vodka before he got into the driver's seat, according to an agreed statement of facts later filedincourt.

"What actually happened was the driver was showing off, he had a suspended licence at the time and he was going at least 55 kilometres over the speed limit. And the weather that night was iffy, it had rained and the road was wet," said Goulding.

Her son was killed instantly when the car crashed. Another passenger, Danielle Hudson, also died, and another womanwas injured. Cox later pleaded guilty to impaired driving charges and was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Gregory's death was a crushing loss for Goulding and her family.

"It has changed my life drastically. My son lived at home, so I went from seeing him every single day to never seeing him again," said Goulding."There's not a day goes by that he's not on my mind."

The Goulding family isn't alone, according to Anissa MacLeod, a member of MADDHalifax's regional board.

"People often think it is never going to happen to them, but I can tell you, I have met with hundreds of victims who have lost a loved one to impaired driving. It is tragic, and it is 100 per cent preventable," said MacLeod.

People struggling to deal with the pandemic should focus on looking after their mental health and seek out support, and not turn to unhealthy use of drugs and alcohol, said MacLeod. Seeking helpcould cut down on the spike in impaired driving.

Public education from MADD and the police, along with more calls to 911 about suspected impaired driving, should help bring down the number of impaired drivers, according to Carter.

For her part, Goulding wants tougher drunk driving laws that put offenders behind bars for longer.

"Never get behind the wheel if you're drinking or have any other substance in your body, it can destroy families. It can actually destroy your own life, because you have to live with the fact that you've killed people or injured people," said Goulding.