By Jason Misner
COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, HDSB STAFF
White Oaks Secondary School was the site of the emotional launch of Halton Regional Police’s new safer driving campaign, called Drive to Arrive Alive.
Last week, police unveiled posters depicting discreet photos of Halton fatal motor vehicle collisions that will be used as education awareness in high schools across the region. Police say the intent is to use the posters as a means to counter the youth perception they’re indestructible. The goal is to encourage young people to consider their safest options of transportation rather than hopping into a vehicle, for example, with an impaired driver or a person who texts while driving.
The launch at Oakville's White Oaks Secondary School was emotional because Sharon McGregor, mother of Matthew McGregor – a Grade 12 WOSS student who was killed in a McCraney Street East accident in late March in which police say alcohol was a factor – spoke to a gripped lunchtime crowd. One of the photos depicted in the Halton police posters is the scene of her son’s accident.
Fighting back tears, McGregor’s message was a simple one – she urged students not to drink and drive.
“I don’t want any other parent to go through this,” she said. “Do not ever get into a car (and drive) when you’ve been drinking or if someone’s been drinking.”
After the launch, McGregor said she hopes the poster campaign will remind students that preventable driving mistakes can hurt their friends.
Driving-related injuries or deaths “do happen to people they know,” McGregor said.
Family members impacted by traffic fatalities were consulted by police about discreetly using accident photos in an attempt to bring something positive out of a tragic situation to help save a life, said police.
This initiative may expand to share personal messages to emphasize the value of traffic enforcement and the tragedy of a fatal collision.
According to Halton police, the 2009 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey shows 12 per cent of students have driven within an hour of consuming alcohol and that 23 per cent of students have reported being a passenger in a car with a driver who has been drinking.
This year in Halton, police say there have been 13 traffic fatalities, six where alcohol was a factor.
Commending McGregor’s strength and courage for speaking to students about her son’s death, Deputy Halton Police Chief Bob Percy told the crowd the poster concept was meant to provide a truer understanding of the consequences of poor driving choices.
“Instead of producing another poster, we thought what would be prudent to get the message across in a very good manner was to deal with families who have experienced tragedy this year as a result of motor vehicle collisions,” he said. `(Accident deaths) have happened in Halton and will happen in Halton again unless you make effective decisions, not just before you get into the car but while you are in the car and while you are driving. That means don’t be inattentive.”