Impaired driving victims become face of new Sask. awareness campaign

Alyscia Kaufmann said she and her husband, Tanner, always looked for a safe ridehome when they'd been drinking.

But on Sept. 4, 2016, he was out for a drive with his dog when he parked the vehicle, stepped outsideand was hit by, police believe, an impaired driver.

Eight months later,his wife said Tanner would be proud to know that his life is being remembered in a new impaired driving awareness campaign launched by Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) at an event in Regina on Thursday.

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SGI is replacing the stock imagery used in last year'santi-drinking and driving adswith the faces and stories of 12 Saskatchewan residents killed by impaired drivers.

Real stories, real change

It's a move Kaufmann believes will make a difference when it comes to changing the culture of drunk driving in the province.

"I feel when you see this ad and you hear these words, how could you not, how could you willingly get behind a vehicle and drive when impaired when you see the real true impact of the loss?"

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She spoke at the ad campaign launch, and afterwards said seeing the ad featuring Tanner for the first time was extremely difficult, but that doing nothing would have been harder.

"Standing back and letting other families and other people go through this loss is harder than getting up and putting my pain on display and putting my boys' pain on display," she said.

How could you willingly get behind a vehicle and drive when impaired when you see the real true impact of the loss'-AlysciaKaufmann

"My everyday life is without him, so it's not harder than that."

The province-wide campaign will appear on radio ads, billboards, commercials and online from May 14 to June 16.

According to SGI, more than 600 people have been killed and more 4,000 injured as a result of impaired driving over the past decade.

Lou Van de Vorst attended Thursday's event because his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren were all killed by animpaired driver who smashed into their vehicle.

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"I choke up, I catch my breath, I get a little hurt in my heart," he said of when he sees the ad featuring his family.

"I start tearing up and I remember my kids. What else are you going to do?"

Bereavedfather wantsharsher punishments for drunk drivers

DaveWensley, whose17-year-old daughter Sarah waskilled by an impaired driver, declined SGI's offer to participate in the event, saying offenders need to be punished more harshly and that an awareness campaign isn't enough.

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In his daughter's case, the impaired driver was behind the wheel of a stolen truck that hit the vehicle carrying his daughter and her friends.

"My daughter was taken from her family because of a justice system that failed to keep her killers off the street," he told reporters.

Wensley went on to criticize the Saskatchewan Party for allowing former deputy premier Don McMorrisback into caucus.

Last year, McMorris pleaded guilty to impaired driving after he was caught with a blood alcohol level between .200 and .210 two and a half times the legal limit of .08 per cent.

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"There is no real consequence," he said. "And there is no real consequence because politicians do nothing except talk and sponsor poster campaigns."

Wensley said the McMorris casewas even worse, considering hewas theministerresponsible for Crown insurerSGIand the liquor and gaming authoritySLGAat the time of his arrest.

"We owe it to ourselves, our loved ones and all other road users to never drive if we're impaired on alcohol and drugs," he said.

"Those are Don McMorris's own meaningless words at last year's campaign and I just heard him this year at this campaign as well. I hope they have more meaning this year."

Strengthened laws

Crown Investments Minister Joe Hargrave said that Thursday's event was about the families and the awareness campaign, which he believes will change attitudeswhen it comes to drinking and driving.

As for the government's other efforts, he pointed to the strengthening of laws around impaired driving introduced on Jan. 1.

Now, experienced drivers caught for the first time with a blood alcohollevelover .04 will have their vehicle impounded for three days. The province alsoincreased the age of zero tolerance to 21 from 19.