Awareness week for impaired driving to educate and promote zero fatalities

National Impaired Driving Prevention Week takes place March 18 to 24

Awareness week for impaired driving to educate and promote zero fatalities

The upcoming legislation to legalize the recreational use of cannabis in Canada, together with the arrival of spring and longer days that tempt us to venture out more, has prompted the inaugural National Impaired Driving Prevention Week, which will be observed during the week of March 18 to 24.

"Each of us is at risk and everyone must contribute to the ultimate goal: zero fatalities on our roads, streets and highways due to impaired driving. This ambitious target is equal to the gravity of the scourge that impaired driving represents for society, as year after year people young and old are being pointlessly slaughtered," said Nicola Di Iorio, the initiator and spearhead behind National Impaired Driving Prevention Week.

Having its theme as #ZeroFatalities, this prevention-oriented week is to be an opportunity to contribute to saving lives, since traffic deaths are not accidents, but avoidable fatalities.

 The figures are alarming: Of all the criminal offences committed in the country, impaired driving is the most common, with over 72,000 cases recorded in 2015 alone. It is also the crime that causes the most deaths in Canada.

It is important to talk to your workforce, friends, family, acquaintances and other colleagues about the impaired driving problem and take steps to safely plan automobile outings.