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MADD Quinte enlists help from college students

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Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are asking local college students to become card-carrying life savers.
On Monday MADD Quinte kicked off it’s Red Ribbon campaign with the help of Loyalist College justice studies students.
Student volunteers signed a Contract For Life and receiving a card a little thicker than a credit card with the words ‘This Card Could Save Your Life’ written boldly on it to keep in their purse or wallet. They then worked on getting others to sign on as well.
“They’re making a commitment today that they’re not going to drink and drive,” explained MADD Quinte’s Allen Magee. “The student volunteers are getting students and professors to initial for their commitment.”
The card also comes with an attached fact sheet including information like planning ahead for transportation when going out drinking, how to handle a friend that wants to drive impaired and statistics on the impact drunk driving can have.
Some of those statistics are chilling. Impaired driving causes four deaths and 175 serious injures every day. Road crashes are the number one cause of death among people aged 16 to 25 in Canada with 55 per cent of those involving alcohol or drugs.
“These kids today have the potential to save a life,” said Magee. “And that’s something we can’t measure.
“We can measure how many people drive impaired, statistically, but we can’t measure how many people we save. Today they’ll save several lives.”
Student volunteers get some invaluable first-hand experience interacting with people who have been directly impacted by drunk driving through their work with MADD, said Magee.
“Their brother or sister or parents may have been injured or killed by an impaired driver. So they see how realistic it is when they’re out there at our events.”
Tom Deakin, professor of justice studies at the college, said this kind of involvement from his students will help them in their chosen career paths.
“Particularly in an initiative like this, involving MADD to... raise awareness around drinking and driving.
“When we put out the call for volunteers to help out, we certainly had lots of interest in helping.”
An added benefit to student participation is spreading awareness in the 18 to 25 age group, which is critical, said Magee.
“They are in a very high-risk group for impaired driving.”
tjmiller@postmedia.com

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