Impaired drivers kill an average of two people every week in B.C.

National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims

BURNABY, BC, Nov. 15 /CNW/ - November 17th is the third annual National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims. This is a day set aside to remember those killed or seriously injured on Canadian roads, often in avoidable collisions, and those left to deal with the sudden and unexpected loss of the people they love.

BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation's Executive Director, Allan Lamb reminds British Columbians that, "Impaired drivers are killing an average of two people and injuring 60 every week in BC." This is a statistic that has not changed significantly in the past five years and is not surprising when one in five people in our province admits to driving after drinking.

Lamb says the foundation will mark this day by remembering four-year old Alexa Middelaer and the many other British Columbians who have lost their lives or been severely injured as a result of an impaired driving related traffic crash.

Alexa Middelaer died of her injuries in May of 2008 after being struck by a vehicle driven by a woman who has been convicted of being impaired by alcohol.

Shortly after Alexa's death the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation joined Alexa's parents Laurel and Michael Middelaer in their fight to change the laws and social attitudes concerning impaired driving.

Many successes were celebrated in the past year. The creation of Alexa's Team, 175 police officers from around the province that removed over 8 thousand impaired drivers from B.C.'s roads in 2009. In September the provincial government instituted the toughest impaired driving penalties in the country. The foundation and the Middelaer family are also working to bring mobile roadside breath testing units to BC that will allow police officers to process more impaired drivers on site.

The deaths of Alexa and others were preventable and have forever changed the lives of hundreds of families. The BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation is calling on all British Columbians to act responsibly and do not get behind the wheel while impaired, or to allow anyone that has consumed drugs or alcohol to do so.

You can join the fight against impaired driving and help promote a change in social responsibility by making a donation to the Alexa Middelaer Memorial Fund. One hundred per cent of your donation will go toward educating communities and individuals about the dangers of impaired driving. For more information visit www.bcaatsf.ca or call 604-298-5107.

    
    Editor's Note:

    -   Data shows the incidence of impaired driving is on the rise in B.C.,
        killing 133 people and causing more than 3,000 injuries on average,
        every year.

        -  Bill C-2, enacted in 2008, empowers Canadian police who suspect a
           driver of being impaired by any illegal, prescription or over-the-
           counter drug, to demand the subject submit to a breathalyzer test,
           physical coordination tests and an assessment by a Drug
           Recognition Expert.

        -  There are over 1,700 police officers in B.C. trained to recognize
           drug impairment in drivers.

        -  Traffic crashes cost the BC economy $8.8 billion annually.

        -  Impaired drivers cost the BC economy over $1.6 billion annually
    

About BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation

The BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation is a non-profit registered charity working with families, communities and business partners to reduce the number and severity of traffic crashes and injuries in B.C. For more information visit www.BCAATSF.ca or call 604-298-5107.

    
                             DRIVE TO SAVE LIVES
                               www.BCAATSF.ca

    URL for this media release is:
    http://www.tsfbcaa.com/content/custompages/news.aspx
    

For further information: Lennea Durant, Media Relations, BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation, Tel: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]; Allan Lamb, Executive Director, BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation, Tel: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]