RCMP arrest an impaired driver nearly every day and believe many more are on the road

Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP have arrested an impaired driver almost every day for three years, according to their figures, but police say there are many more out there who don't get caught.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jolene Garland says data collected from 2021to 2023 shows an average of 350 impaired driving chargesevery year.

"Unfortunately, drivers are still continuing to make that choice to drive while impaired," Garland said.

"This is not a bad dream that you wake up from and it's gone."

Garland noted the RCMP's numbers reflect only the people caught; the total number of impaired drivers could be much higher.

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary spokesperson Const. James Cadigan says they receive calls and reports about impaired drivers multiple times a day.

"Unfortunately, in cases we've seen in our communities, tragedy strikes before a report can be made," he said. "And that is the frightening part."

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Const. James Cadigan says the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary receives reports of impaired driving day and night. He says impaired drivers are effectively operating a weapon, and that crashes can lead to tragedy.

Garland says there isn't one demographic to blame. The charges happen at all hours of the day, include men and women,and span all ages: from young people who don't even have licences to people in their late 80s, she said.

Garland says 30 per cent of fatal crashes in the past three years had an impaired driver involved, and in 70 per cent of those cases the impairment is due to alcohol.

Patricia Hynes-Coates, a former president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, has been advocating for responsible driving since losing her stepson NicholasCoates over 10 years ago.

She calls the RCMP's statistics "disgusting."

"It's frustrating. To me, our society has gotten more selfish. It should never happen."

On Aug. 16, 2013, Nick Coates, 27, was driving his motorcycle on Kenmount Road when a pickup truck crashed into him. He died in the hospital shortly after. The driver was convicted of impaired driving.

Hynes-Coates says the pain of losing him, 10 years later, never healed.

"We'll never hear his voice or feel his arms around us, the fact that we'll never know his future children, never get to see him walk down the aisle," she said. "All because one person decided that morning he had a right to get into his vehicle and drive while he was impaired."

Irresponsible driving isn't limited to driving under an influence, Gail Thornelost her daughter, Hannah, in 2016 when two men where racingon the highway and crashed intoHannah'scar.

"After Hannah's death, our lives were turned upside down, completely changed." she said.

"Her toothbrush still sits in her toothbrush holder. I just can't throw it away. [Her death] consumed me for many, many years."

Thorne says the punishments should be even harder if someone is a repeat offender on the road.

"Take their licence away for a life. No more second chances," she said. "I have no pity. My daughter didn't get a second chance. The two gentlemen that were involved in her crash, they did."

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