MIDDLETON, N.S. — Bunny Ruggles raised her arms and waved frantically as the transport truck barreled towards her down Highway 101 -- and she prayed.
The Nictaux woman was trapped inside her van in the middle of the road in the middle of the night four kilometres from Coldbrook. She’d been on her way home from work when she came up over a rise and met a car, on her side of the road, with no headlights. The crash was pretty much head on and the semi rushing towards her a moment later was almost the end.
The arm waving or the prayer – maybe both – worked.
The truck driver managed to swerve, stopped up the road a way, and rushed back to help her. That was on March 17, 2006. She was trapped in the van for almost two hours with a crushed hip, was finally freed and taken to Valley Regional, airlifted to Halifax, and for years was held together by steel plates and pins. She walked with a cane and woke up to pain every day until a recent hip replacement.
All that because somebody decided to drink and drive. He survived too.
Ruggles was one of several speakers during the Project Red Ribbon campaign launch at the Middleton fire hall Nov. 13 by the Bay of Fundy NS Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
THE NUMBERS
While Ruggles story is compelling, and the photos of the crash scene something out of the movies, it happens every day on Canada’s roads. The number of people killed or injured by impaired drivers remains staggering.
“It is an alarming fact that on average four people die every day in Canada, and approximately 175 are injured in drug- and alcohol-related highway crashes,” said Susan MacAskill with MADD Canada. “This still remains the leading cause of criminal death in our country.”
If you do the math, the numbers suggest an annual national crisis that MADD Canada, police, paramedics, and firefighters have been dealing with up close and personal for entire careers. And it keeps happening despite the decades-old message to drive sober.
“We long for the day when the ‘safe driving’ message will not be needed anymore,” said MacAskill. “Unfortunately, we are not there yet. Every year between 1,250 and 1,500 people are killed and more than 63,000 are injured in impairment-related crashes.”
FIRST RESPONDERS
Paramedic Mike Lockett was at the Red Ribbon Campaign launch and focused on the effect impaired driving crashes, deaths, and injuries have on family and first responders.
“We see some very horrific things out there. We see the devastation that it causes on families, and as first responders I think we’re lying to ourselves if we say that doesn’t have some sort of impact on us,” Lockett said. “We’re seeing that grief. We’re part of that grief. We’re there to try to make sense out of some sort of chaos.”
He said day after day it takes a psychological toll. “It’s important that we have our coping networks and friends and different services that are available to us,” he said.
Middleton Fire Chief Mike Toole agreed. “Unfortunately we see some stuff that we don’t want to take home for sure, but we do,” he said.
And RCMP Sgt. Jamie Greene endorsed the Red Ribbon Campaign which will see checkpoints set up on Annapolis County roads between now and into the new year.
THE MESSAGE
Sheila McGuirk, with Bay of Fundy NS Chapter, said continued awareness efforts are vital and the sober driving message is more important than ever with the legalization of cannabis.
“Our Project Red Ribbon campaign helps keep the sober driving message top of mind during the busy holiday season,” she said. “With parties and celebrations plentiful, the risk for impaired driving is especially high. Our red ribbon is a small but powerful symbol of the wearer’s commitment to sober driving.”
“Our red ribbon is also a tribute to all those from Annapolis and Digby counties, across Nova Scotia, and across our entire country who have been killed or injured in a drug- or alcohol-related crash and their loved ones who are also affected,” said MacAskill.
Cheryl Llewellyn was one of those who died, and while statistics show the magnitude of the impaired driving problem, Llewellyn was more than a statistic. People called her Sherry. She was a daughter and granddaughter and a big sister to five siblings. She graduated from high school in Lawrencetown in 1976. Within a dozen years she’d graduated from Acadia, worked for the government of the Northwest Territories, and was later employed by the Auditor General’s Department in Halifax.
Llewellyn and soul mate Ernie Arseneau had just bought a house on St. Margaret’s Bay.
“Saturday, June 25, 1988: Cheryl, Ernie and friends Dale Heffler and Kathy Bradley were attending a late Father’s Day barbecue gathering at Cheryl’s parents’ home in New Albany,” a tribute banner reads. “While returning to the city, the car in which they were travelling was struck head on by an impaired driver. The occupants of both vehicles were killed instantly.”
Llewellyn was just 30 years old.
The impaired driver had a blood-alcohol reading of four times the legal limit. Llewellyn’s family and friends had a funeral and memories.
BY THE NUMBERS
Nova Scotia RCMP statistics for all detachments in Nova Scotia for September 2019 on drivers charged for driving impaired by drugs or alcohol:
133 drivers with impaired related offences in total
76 charged with Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle by Alcohol
2 charged with Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle by Drug
9 charged with Refusal of a Demand Made by a Peace Officer
1 driver complied with a demand for a blood sample due to suspected drug-impaired driving
46 issued driving suspensions for Operating a Motor Vehicle While Having Consumed Alcohol
DID YOU KNOW?
Nova Scotia, there are approximately 250 RCMP members with training related to drug-impaired driving, 33 of whom are Drug Recognition Experts. Nova Scotia RCMP also has 427 trained breath technicians who are qualified to operate instruments that determine a driver’s blood alcohol concentration.
DID YOU KNOW?
Failure or refusal to comply with a demand made by a peace officer for a sample for testing sobriety can result in criminal charges that have the same penalties as impaired driving. There are a range of fines and periods of driving prohibition for those convicted of driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
IMPAIRMENT SIGNS
Citizens should call 911 immediately if they see a driver who is driving erratically or unsafely.
Here are some signs of an impaired driver to watch for:
· Driving unreasonably fast, slow or at an inconsistent speed
· Drifting in and out of lanes
· Tailgating and changing lanes frequently
· Making exceptionally wide turns
· Changing lanes or passing without sufficient clearance
· Overshooting or stopping well before stop signs or stop lights
· Disregarding signals and lights
· Approaching signals or leaving intersections too quickly or slowly
· Driving without headlights, failing to lower high beams or leaving turn signals on
· Driving with windows open in cold or inclement weather
CALLING 911
Once you call 911, you will be asked to provide the following:
· Your location
· A description of the vehicle, including the license plate number, colour, make and model
· The direction of travel for the vehicle
· A description of the driver if visible.
