Two prominent anti-impaired driving advocates will be featured in a new SGI ad campaign “Could You Live With Yourself”, that tackles some of the less obvious consequences of impaired driving.
Linda and Lou Van de Vorst know all too well the devastation that can come from impaired driving. They are the parents of Jordan Van de Vorst. Jordan, his wife Chanda and their two young children Kamryn and Miguire who were killed by an impaired driver in 2016. Lou Van de Vorst says the ad campaign highlights the other side of that and says people need to think “could they live with themselves if they killed someone, could their family?” He asks “could they live with the impact on their own family and the people that love them?” Linda Van de Vorst says some people do not realize the impact their decisions have on their family, their friends and co-workers. She says some have no idea how life can change in a split second, when someone makes the decision to drive impaired, and end up taking the lives of families or individuals.
Minister Responsible for SGI, Don Morgan, says although impaired driving offences and fatalities are reducing in the province, it remains a serious concern on Saskatchewan roads.
He says the new campaign will lead people to think about the other consequences of impaired driving. “Yes there are stiff penalties such as huge fines, jail times and license suspensions, but it’s also about the feelings a person would experience if their bad decision killed someone else. The guilt, the shame, a lifetime of regret.”
Morgan says there has been a steady downward slide of impaired driving related deaths especially in the last few years. He states impaired driving related deaths dropped to 51 in 2016 and in 2019 there were 21. The numbers for 2020 have not been released yet. Morgan attributes the drop in numbers to things like SGI awareness campaigns, advocates like Linda and Lou Van de Vorst and work by police in the province. Morgan adds that even one death is too many, and while the province is on the right track there is more work to do.
The “Could You Live With Yourself” campaign runs throughout February and features a video and radio ads, and specially designed mirror decals that will be strategically placed in licensed establishments.
