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In the early 1990s, Lawrie Palk did something that has had a lasting impact on the community.
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He agreed to speak to a group about impaired drivers.
“That was a big step for me,” said Palk, 73, who suffered a broken, neck, fractured skull and a concussion after being knocked off his bike by an impaired driver in May 1988.
“I started down the path from being a victim to becoming an advocate and I’ve been speaking out about impaired driving ever since.”
The invitation to make his first speech came in a call from Anna Mae Simington, a leader in the local crusade against drinking and driving. Simington, who was a mentor to Palk, died in October 2006.
Palk recalled that, minutes before that first speech, Simington told him he might recognize someone in the audience of 30 or so. Sure enough, Palk saw a close associate of the person who had knocked him off his bike.
“Typically, after a speech like this people come up afterwards to shake your hand and say thanks and that’s what everyone did,” he said “Everyone except the close associate of the person who hit me.
“He walked by, didn’t make eye contact and didn’t say a thing.”
After a sleepless night, Palk received another call from Simington.
“She encouraged me and told me not to be put off by the person who walked right by me without saying anything,” she said. “She reminded me that I had probably had a profound impact on most of the people in that room.
“As an advocate, all you can do is to keep on speaking and look for ways to effect change.”
After 23 years of service, Palk has retired from the Brant Brantford and Six Nations Impaired and Distracted Driving Committee. Prior to joining the committee, Palk, who was diagnosed with a permanent brain injury, started a local head injury association.
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“It’s time to past the torch,” he said. “I’ll still be an advocate, I’ll be doing that for the rest of my life.
“But I think it’s time for others, younger people, to take over.”
Palk said a great deal has changed over the past couple of decades.
“Probably the biggest change is in society’s attitude,” he said. “Back in the 1980s and even into the 1990s, many people didn’t think twice about getting behind the wheel after having a few drinks.”
He said there will always be those who will drink and drive but there is a greater awareness of the consequences from life-altering injuries to death.
Palk noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on people’s mental health, which, in turn, has led to increased consumption of drugs and alcohol.
“Nobody could have foreseen this happening,” he said of the pandemic. “But I think we have to do keep on making impaired driving socially unacceptable and making sure that value gets passed down from one generation to the next.”
Palk has spoken publicly about issues such as the legalization of recreational marijuana and the sale of liquor in corner stores. He has also pressed governments for changes in legislation and helped those impacted by impaired driving.
“After I got hit, I made a decision to forgive,” Palk said. “I’ve forgiven but I’ve never forgotten.”
He said forgiveness is a part of healing.
“You have to move on,” Palk said. “Otherwise it will eat you up.
“I became involved in the committee all those years ago because I never wanted anyone else to have to go through what I did.”
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