For the second year, Saskatchewan Government Insurance is featuring real impaired driving victims in its “People Shouldn’t Disappear” campaign.
The videos show families impacted by tragedy telling their story of how one decision changed their lives forever.
Sharing the stories offers a powerful message about the human impact of impaired driving, but families must relive difficult moments.
Dakota Schmidt, who witnessed the death of her mother Daphne after their car was hit by a drunk driver, says it’s not easy to talk about her experience. However, she says it plays an important role in the fight against preventable deaths.
“I find it very important to bring awareness,” Schmidt said. “I’ve said since I lost my mom that, if you kept one person from making the decision to drink and drive, you’ve already made a difference. That is one family you have saved, and that’s a difference.”
SGI says the number of impaired driving incidents was down in 2017.
“We’re seeing those numbers head in the right direction, but there is still much work to do,” said Tyler McMurchy with SGI. “We want to make sure we keep the focus on impaired driving stays strong in Saskatchewan, because we don’t want to see those numbers creep back up.”
It’s still too early to tell how many impaired driving charges have been laid in the province in 2018. But, SGI is hopeful this year’s campaign will keep it trending downwards.
