Deciding to make the right choices

Dear editor,

The world of impaired driving never ceases to amaze and disgust me. It is bad enough that there is such lack of respect for the living that have their lives destroyed by the choices of these selfish individuals. It has reached an all time low that our already deceased and their families cannot be guaranteed of their one safe respectful last trip up the highway. Thank goodness for the quick actions of the tow truck driver who stopped the van driving the wrong way on the 400 and allegedly impaired who was carrying someone's loved one to a Toronto funeral home.

On perhaps a more positive note, it is my hope that we are starting to see a trend with the most recent guilty pleas by impaired perpetrators. In both Allan Mason and Stacey Johnston cases violent killings of our fellow man were committed with their vehicles as weapons while they drove impaired. Whether it was their own conscious that lead them to the guilty plea or scientific evidence that couldn't be denied, it's about time the world starts to take full responsibility for its actions. If high tech equipment proves you have too much alcohol in your system to drive, as well as individuals who witness your drunken state and if Officers of the law who are entrusted to serve and protect us, who creditably can put you through field sobriety testing to prove it, tell me WHY some of you think you can still dispute it??

You know in your heart of hearts you have done wrong. Once the deed is done it's far too late to worry about the impact it will have on your life and your family. Be the big person and stand up and take your lumps. The only way for this carnage on our roads to end is for everyone to take responsibility for their actions. Let's all stop calling them accidents and this will start putting the responsibility back into the action. Our world is all about making right and wrong choices and driving impaired from alcohol and or drugs is one of them.

Kim Butler MADD Barrie/Simcoe