ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — There may have been a few — OK, a lot — of pylons that were struck during the making of this article.
I donned my goggles and made my way around the course with Cpl. Jolene Garland, the RCMP’s media relations officer, acting as my guide.
Those pylons all represented something or someone that I may have struck or run over on my venture around the RCMP headquarters gymnasium, where the event was held.
When all was said and done, I flipped up the goggles and it hit me like a tonne of bricks. I actually felt impaired, queasy, a bit weak-legged and for a second, my stomach fluttered, and I hoped the McDonald’s breakfast burrito meal I had for breakfast was going to stay down.
To be clear, I was perfectly sober climbing onto the pedal cart.
The event, hosted by the RCMP and the Avalon T’Railway Corporation, brought together members of the media and several partners in the community, and explained the many issues resulting from impaired driving, both alcohol and drugs, and the potential for a host of incidents that you can’t walk back.
Sadly, I have first-hand experience in what it feels like to be in this position.
It has been a long time (more than 30 years) since I fool-heartedly almost killed myself — or worse, others — by driving while intoxicated. I luckily survived, as did all others who were on the Trans-Canada Highway with me at the time.
I will spare you the details, but it was one of the dumb-ass things that I did in my youth and somehow lived to tell about it.
But I made a pact with myself that, should I make it home alive, I would never do it again, and to this date, almost 33 years later, I have not.
A host of others followed suit and climbed aboard the pedal cart and, to a person, recounted the same feelings I had a few minutes earlier.
“Wow,” was all RCMP Assistant Commissioner Ches W. Parsons could say after completing the course.
“That was intensely disturbing. You can’t see anything. Your depth perception and field of vision are gone,’’ Parsons said, with a troubled look on his face.
“Can you imagine doing that at the speed a vehicle would be doing?’’
Parsons said participants were barely moving out there, and you see the results from everyone who attempted to manoeuvre the course.
Rick Noseworthy of the Avalon T’Railway Corporation said impaired driving on the trail systems is far more prevalent than people may think.
There are ATVs year-round and snowmobiles in the winter, and then there is boating season.
“I don’t know how many, but we see it. There is a misconception that it is OK to drive an ATV, snowmobile or boat while under the influence of drugs or alcohol,’’ Noseworthy said.
“To operate these (machines) on many surfaces, a lot of factors go into their control. An ATV is ride action, which means body weight is used to turn the machine,’’ he added, noting when there is impairment, by either alcohol or drugs, that is drastically changed.
Alcohol or drugs is proven to throw off your judgment to operate a vehicle, Garland noted.
An intense series of tests and research went into developing the goggles, some for alcohol impairment, several for drug impairment and even a morning-after set of goggles that show you can still be impaired the next day.
“This partnership helps us get the message out about impaired driving,” Garland said.
“I am certain everyone here gets that message and I hope will share it among their own groups.”
