White crosses will be erected along the St. Clair River this weekend, for the annual Mothers Against Drunk Driving visual reminder of the toll impaired driving can take.
White crosses will be erected along the St. Clair River by Mothers Against Drunk Driving volunteers this weekend as a visual reminder of the toll impaired driving can take.
These crosses – a poignant reminder of the nationwide death toll of impaired driving during the holiday season – will remain along the waterfront until the new year.
Erin Pollard, the president of MADD’s Sarnia-Lambton chapter, said volunteers are still needed to help hammer in the roughly 270 crosses that comprehend the display. Supporters are asked to arrive by 10:30 am on Saturday immediately south of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation sign on the St. Clair Parkway, across from Suncor, to complete the work.
“People are still choosing to drink and drive” despite having access to ride-sharing services, taxi cabs and other ways to avoid the potentially deadly crime, Pollard said.
“As long as they’re still doing it, we’re still going to be out there trying to promote safe driving,” she said.
From January to October of this year, Sarnia police reported 69 impaired driving charges, including four drug-related charges, the chapter said in a news release. The Lambton OPP’s numbers from that same time period showed 145 impaired driving arrests, three of which were drug related, chapter officials said.
Hundreds of Canadians are killed and thousands injured every year in impaired driving crashes, MADD officials said in the release.
“Our stats, they’re not going down,” said Pollard, attributing the steady rate of offenses when compared to this time last year to either more drinking and driving or more offenses being reported.
“We like to think it’s the latter,” she said.
New, highly visible locations are generally chosen in Sarnia-Lambton for the cross display every year, she said.
People who show up to help Saturday are asked to bring a mallet and dress for the weather.
A brief dedication ceremony is planned for 11 am involving local dignitaries, including Sarnia police Chief Derek Davis, who’s also vice-president of MADD Canada’s board of directors.
It will be the local chapter’s first event with Davis since he took over as chief in June, she said, noting the organization has always had great support from area provincial and city police.
The organization, though, currently has few volunteers and is looking for more to come on board so the chapter can start holding more events, Pollard said.
Case in point, the chapter is planning to hand out red ribbons at the cross event and at the Dec. 3 Sarnia Kinsmen Santa Claus Parade, but won’t host voluntary tolls in parking lots until next year, she said.
“We didn’t have enough volunteers to be able to organize the event this year because we have to start earlier in the year and we weren’t too sure … what COVID (would) look like,” she said.
The voluntary toll campaign in parking lots, where volunteers ask for donations in return for red ribbons, typically raised $10,000 to $12,000 for the chapter in past years, Pollard said.
Board members are also needed since the chapter only has five.
She said she hoped to at least double that number.
“There’s many things we’d like to do that we can’t do right now because we don’t have the volunteers,” she said, estimating the commitment at about eight hours per month.
Anyone interested is asked to contact [email protected] or Pollard at 519-331-0096.