Rolled-over car on Highway 43 (MADD Grande Prairie Facebook)

By Liam Verster

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

MADD Grande Prairie raising awareness of impaired driving dangers with crashed car campaign

Jun 26, 2020 | 12:17 PM

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Grande Prairie is running an eye-catching initiative this summer, to raise awareness of the dangers and possible consequences of driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

A rolled-over car, adorned with police tape, red ribbons, and imprinted with ‘Don’t Drive Impaired’ has been set up along the side of Highway 43 near Range Road 51.

Tia Marsten, MAAD’s Community Leader for the Grande Prairie Region, says the red ribbons are a staple of the organization, and are used to raise awareness of impaired driving, bring attention to the victims of impaired driving, and as a reminder to not drive under the influence.

“We use them as part of our Red Ribbon Projects, just as a reminder not to drive impaired, and it also symbolizes the idea of driving impaired and the victims it causes.”

Grande Prairie is the second community in Alberta to run this campaign. It initially started in Parkland County, and Marsten says she’s currently in the process of trying to arrange for the car to be displayed in other, nearby communities.

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“We’re hoping to get the car into other communities. We understand that impaired driving is not just a problem in Grande Prairie, it’s a problem everywhere, including our smaller communities. So, we would certainly like to see the car reach out to some of the other communities surrounding Grande Prairie.”

The campaign will run until at least the August long weekend. The car will be moved with the help of Harold’s Towing to highly visible locations throughout the city over the course of the summer, in order to reach more eyes and raise awareness.

The most recent Alberta Traffic Statistics from Alberta Transportation show that 37 people were killed and another 498 people were injured in impaired driving collisions in 2017. Between 2013 and 2017, an average of 48 Albertans were killed and 669 injured in collisions involving impaired drivers each year. The Grande Prairie RCMP could not be reached for comment on the statistics of impaired driving incidents in Grande Prairie or the region.