Drinking and Driving Awareness Campaign Kicks Off

Community groups, police, city councilors, public health, and students will volunteer in 45 communities at 145 stores to raise funds and awareness for sober driving.
A true partnership, 50% of the revenue raised by participants is returned to them for any sober driving program/activity they choose. The campaign, organized by Ontario Community Council on Impaired Driving (OCCID) and The Beer Store, has more than 400 volunteers on board and will include Toronto for the first time.
“Working with The Beer Store on this campaign is a great opportunity for us to educate the public on impaired driving and how to prevent it, and to raise funds in our own communities to fight impaired driving” said Andrew Sprague, Regional Director At Large for OCCID.
OCCID is working to educate the public on ways to prevent impaired driving (Plan ahead, call home, take a cab or public transit, be a designated driver, etc.) and also on Ontario’s current penalties for impaired driving which have changed many times since 1995.
Since 1999, OCCID has printed the Arrive Alive (Drive Sober) Passport, for this purpose.
"Administrative Driver Licence Suspensions, longer drivers licence suspensions for recidivists, stiffer fines, remedial measures, assessment, vehicle impoundment, longer search lengths (for prior offences), and ignition interlock are all measures that have been implemented within the last ten years”, OCCID Executive Director Anne Leonard.
“I’m hopeful we will see even less impaired driving as the public becomes aware of these penalties and restrictions”.
Passports are available at all The Beer Stores in Ontario until the end of May.