Ribbons a reminder: think behind the wheel

BY ASHLEY THOMPSON

Kings County Advertiser

Party hosts and guests alike this Christmas - and throughout the new year - can help Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The Bay of Fundy chapter of MADD Canada launched its Project Red Ribbon campaign in the Greenwood Mall Nov. 23. Jennie Bignell, the president of the chapter, hopes this year’s campaign encourages people to drink responsibly this holiday season. “We’re trying to get the message out there to remind people to drink safe and to drive sober, and to make sure their friends and family do the same thing,” said Bignell. “There’s just way too many people being killed or injured.”

Brian Wade’s life changed forever Aug. 14, 1983, while he was driving his motorcycle home to Granville Ferry after visiting his girlfriend in Digby.

Wade submitted a letter, presented by AVR’s Gerry Neville at the launch, detailing his perspective of the crash. “I was struck from behind by an impaired driver and left on the side of the road to die,” wrote Wade, no longer able to speak due to head injuries he sustained in the crash. He spent two months on life support until he gained enough strength to breathe on his own and could return home to get his life back on track. “With the persistence and hard work from my family, I was retrained to creep, to crawl, to walk,” he wrote, with help from his parents, Robert and Sandra Wade.

Now 45, Wade hopes his story will discourage people from driving while impaired. His mother hopes the courts will stiffen penalties given to people caught behind the wheel while under the influence. “When things like this happen - like what happened to him, it’s not an accident – it’s a crash. Crashes can be prevented – accidents can’t,” she said.

Sandra Wade explained, while she knows the identities of the five individuals in the car that hit her son, no charges were ever laid. Police were unable to prove who was driving, and they could not charge the owner of the vehicle because it was not insured or registered. “I would like to see the law be changed somehow. It’s like if you and I went out and we shot somebody; we’re all charged with murder, so why can’t they equally charge everybody that’s in a vehicle that’s not registered or insured?”

Addressing a crowd of about 40 people at the launch, Bignell said MADD will continue to work with law enforcement to get drunk drivers off the streets, distribute red ribbons to remind people not to drink and drive and conduct random road checks throughout the holidays. A collaborative effort that involves everyday citizens is needed for real progress. “It’s not that we’re saying don’t party and don’t have drinks,” explained Bignell. “That’s not at all what MADD is about. “What we’re about is driving safe and sober: everybody in society has that responsibility.”

Bignell says it is up to hosts to ensure their guests have a safe way home.

Like Bignell, Sandra Wade volunteers with MADD because she believes campaigning will raise awareness and save lives. She says it is the least she can do for her son. “If somebody goes out drinking and driving and kills themselves, they’re the author of their own book. They wrote his story – he didn’t.”