Government of Yukon
Archives
FOR RELEASE #05-266
October 17, 2005
Yukon Recognizes National Students Against Impaired Driving
WHITEHORSE - On behalf of Glenn Hart, minister of highways and public works, Minister Archie Lang has recognized the important work the national Students Against Impaired Driving organization is doing to stop impaired driving and educate Canada's youth on the perils of mixing alcohol or drugs with driving.
"Impaired driving is a serious concern for all Yukoners," Lang said. "It is tragic when a young person is injured or killed by drinking and driving because all of these incidents are preventable."
Tuesday, Oct. 18 is National Students Against Impaired Driving Day. In Yukon, the Grade 10 students at Porter Creek secondary school are organizing an awareness day that includes selling "mocktails", producing videos and posters and raising funds for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
"This is an important day, and Porter Creek students have some creative events planned to raise awareness about impaired driving," Lynda Peterson, student portfolio manager at Porter Creek secondary said. "Students will be challenging each other to a game of "beer goggle" basketball. The idea is that students get a realistic sense of how their vision is impaired when they drink by using these special glasses."
Statistics show that young people are more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash, and that 40 per cent of the time alcohol is involved. Many Yukon families are devastatingly affected each year when a young person is injured or killed by impaired driving.
"What inspires me is that this national awareness day is about young people themselves acting to raise awareness to help other young people. By organizing a national day of action for youth, Canadian students can focus their efforts and help educate their peers about an extremely important issue," Lang said.
Tomorrow, in over 500 schools across the nation, students are participating in activities to prevent impaired driving. Students have created websites, organized contests, events and letter writing campaigns, and distributed manuals and kits to raise awareness about the tragedy of impaired driving and to prevent future deaths.
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| Contact: | |
| Peter Carr | Marie-Louise Boylan |
| Cabinet Communications Advisor | Communications Analyst, H&PW |
| (867) 667-8688 | (867) 667-3146 |
| peter.carr@gov.yk.ca | marie-louise.boylan@gov.yk.ca |
Lynda Peterson
Portfolio Manager, Porter Creek Secondary School
(867) 667-8044
lynda.peterson@yesnet.yk.ca