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TEETER. TM ETT Tw ey TP roy : | cad a BL Ah anna ame ae ae esse dood "A Family Tradition for 128 Years" RIDE sends tough message Crackdown on drunk drivers begins in region From Page 1 When Ontario toughened drinking and driving legislation and launched a massive anti- impaired advertising campaign, people's attitudes began to change. Now, the term 'desig- nated driver' is a regular part of our vocabulary and, for the most part, people know better than to drink and drive. "In social circles, our atti- tudes have changed," Sgt. Bates affirms. "In the last 10 years there has been a noticeable impact on social drinkers. More of the people charged now are repeat offenders." Numbers dropped Year after year, the percent- age of people drinking and driv- ing (and going through R.I.D.E. program spot checks) continued to plummet. "Sooner or later, we had to reach the plateau," Sgt. Bates says. "In fact, it has gone up." Like anything else, he says people get accustomed to the R.I.D.E. program, and some people begin to take it for grant- ed, maybe taking chances they might not have taken in the past when the public outcry against drunk drivers was at its peak. If anything, this reversal of the trend has put new spark into Sgt. Bates' campaign to. end drinking and driving. According to traffic statistics, nearly 45 per cent of all fatal accidents in Ontario are caused by drinking drivers. The costs of those accidents -- to everyone from insurance companies to employers, from hospitals to individuals -- is staggering: an estimated $6.2 billion annually. But the cost of drinking and driving can be even higher to the families of victims of impaired drivers. And to the actual impaired driver. First time offenders can expect to pay a fine ranging in size from $300 to $2,000, although Sgt. Bates says the normal fine issued in Durham is $1,000. Regardless of the size of the fine, Sgt. Bates says the person loses his or her license for at least one year. Second time offenders can expect to serve 14 days in jail and lose their licenses for two years. Stiff penalties From there, the penalty stiff- ens considerably. Alcoholics who don't know enough to let someone else drive, can wind up spending a great deal of time in the slammer. 'Impaired' drivers are more likely to be caught by regular police patrols than R.I.D.E., which generally 'catches' people who have been drinking, but aren't completely inebriated. Sgt. Bates says few people really know when they have had too much to drink and he claims the old 'one drink per hour' rule rarely holds true. "Only occa- sionally," he says, "for over- weight males." There are no foolproof 'rules' for accurately figuring when an individual has over 80 mg. of aleohol in the bloodstream. Weight and familiarity to alco- hol give everyone a different tolerance level. Protect yourself Sgt. Bates says the best way to protect yourself against an impaired charge is to have a designated driver. Or take a cab. Or don't drink at all. But he doesn't pretend to dictate whether a person should drink or not. "We can't expect people to change their drinking habits. That's a social problem," he says. "Drinking before you drive 1s a legal problem and we have a solution. It's called jail." For the most part, Sgt. Bates says people don't seem to mind going through R.I.D.E. spot checks. If anything, they seem to appreciate the effort to make roads safer. "People go, 'oh yeah, R.I.D.E'". Most people understand what we're doing. Some are annoyed at the wait, but the longest we expect them to be detained, if they're not drinking, is 15 sec- onds," he says. "The odd time there is a traffic tie-up but it certainly is not our intention to delay people." The hours are long for the officers involved in the program, but Sgt. Bates says, "they actu- ally enjoy doing the work. It's the one time we get to deal with the public where the majority of people haven't done anything wrong.' . . CATHY OLLIFFE/PORT PERRY STAR Get the message? This is the view from the driver's seat when you're stopped for a R.I.D.E. spot check. The program is out in full force again this holiday season, with Durham Regional Police offi- cers like Sgt. Rick Bates on the lookout for people who don't heed drinking and driving laws. ART SUPPLIES ~ Christmas Gift Sets ~ by WINSOR NEWTON $19.99 to $69.99 reg. $24.95 to $111.95 WATERCOLOUR OIL ACRYLIC THe A GA AY yor dor) oF %.Q Dy NY, SYS WILTON HOG BRISTLE regular $35.50 SALE $ 19.99 WINSOR ¢& NEWTON SABLE SYNTHETIC BLEND REG. $ 47.50 SALE $29.99 ~ Woodcashed Pastal Pencils ~ Derwent Artists Pencils ~ Derwent Water Colour Pencils FJ y.- (7 C Se COTMAN WATERCOLOURS regular $38.50 SALE $24.99 ~ Studio Coloured Pencils ~ Derwent Sketching Collection ~ Berol Prismacolour SALE PRICES $4.99 to $39.99 Cone) fons: PACYACIVIT-Ta IS) OM Slo] ad 21=140Y, Ei 2543 8 INGA: EQ 7 en) ING 0) \ Teh) SA =Q, =~