The countdown is on, only 17 more shopping days and 18 more sleeps until the big guy arrives.
December is a month filled with lights, memories, sweets, stress, laughter, tears and credit card bills.
It’s also an incredibly busy month for RCMP nabbing drunk drivers on their way to or from some kind of seasonal soiree.
How is it we can put a man on the moon, invent the telephone, television, automobile, the cotton gun, the camera, the steam engine, the sewing machine, the light bulb and penicillin and yet we cannot seem to grasp the very simple fact guzzling alcoholic beverages and operating a motor vehicle is incredibly dangerous – not to mention stupid.
Unfortunately right here in the Gold Pan City and surrounding areas we seem to have an even more difficult time wrapping our heads around the drinking-and-driving-equals-bad concept.
One only has to take a look at our overburdened court system to see how many “brainiacs” choose to hit the bottle, slip behind the wheel and put themselves and the rest of those on the roads at considerable risk.
Yes, B.C. has taken measures to ensure tougher drinking and driving laws, and it’s a great start.
But it needs to begin at a grass-root level, it needs to start with a little something we like to call: common sense. And if you can’t have that, maybe have a heart.
People have lost mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and friends because someone else chose to drink and drive.
If you’re not one to booze and cruise, make your opinion known.
If you plan on having a party this season, tell anyone there drinking they are not leaving your property unless it’s with a designated driver.
We need to send the message that it’s not just about the fines and the inconvenience of a suspended license. It’s about our right to be safe on the roads.
It’s just that simple.
–Autumn MacDonald, Observer