The City of Pembroke has partnered with MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Canada to install signs urging people to call 911 to report impaired drivers. Ron Gervais, the Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Pembroke Police Services Board, says four new signs will be installed around Pembroke to encourage people to report impaired drivers. Gervias tells myFM the partnership with MADD started when the City installed signs at the Marina warning about impaired boating.
Andrea Gosselin lives in the Ottawa Valley and has collected thousands of cans and bottles along the side of the roadways, including Highway 17, where she says she has found not only beer bottles and cans, but also 40 ouncers of liquor that have been tossed out by drivers and passengers.
Gosselin donated proceeds raised from bottles and cans she found to MADD.
Geoff Leckey, the President of MADD Ottawa, says impaired driving is the number one criminal cause of death in Canada. He says every hour, 10 people in Canada are charged with impaired driving or have their license suspended. Leckey says his daughter was killed by an impaired driver and he hopes the new signs remind drivers to plan a safe way home to prevent any serious injuries or death.
Leckey says OPP auxiliary officer Emma LeClair had the idea to bring the report impaired drivers signs to communities in the Ottawa Valley including Renfrew and Pembroke. LeClair was joined by Staff Sergeant MaryAnn MacNeil, representatives with MADD and the City of Pembroke to unveil the new sign on Friday, July 15th, 2022.
(written by: Rudy Kadlec)