Pubdate: Fri, 15 Sep 2017
Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB)
Copyright: 2017 Winnipeg Free Press
Contact: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/send_a_letter
Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/502
Author: Solomon Israel
Page: A4

CAMPAIGN TARGETS DRUG-IMPAIRED DRIVING

MANITOBA - Public Insurance announced a new public education campaign
against drug-impaired driving on Thursday, with a focus on cannabis
ahead of the expected legalization of that substance next year.

The campaign, launched in co-operation with Mothers Against Drunk
Driving Canada, will include messaging focused on new teen drivers,
youth in general, the medical community and the general public, with
taglines such as "Think you're a better driver when you're high? Think
again."

MPI chief administrative officer Ward Keith said the campaign was
developed in response to "a number of things that are lining up to
give us real concerns about the risk of cannabis-impaired driving"
after legalization.

"Our concern is that, through the surveys that we did in the fall, we
know that there is significant drug use among Manitoba drivers. In our
view, those are accidents, collisions waiting to happen," Keith said,
speaking at a news conference alongside Manitoba Premier Brian
Pallister, Crown Services Minister Cliff Cullen, and MADD Canada chief
executive officer Andrew Murie.

Keith was referring to a voluntary roadside survey conducted by MPI in
2016, in which 1,230 drivers submitted breath and saliva samples for
analysis.

Ten per cent of those drivers tested positive for drugs, of which 53
per cent tested positive for cannabis.

The MPI survey did not establish whether drivers who tested positive
for drugs were impaired while they were driving.

The survey, Keith said, revealed "significant misconceptions about how
cannabis can affect driving" among Manitoba drivers, which the new
campaign is designed to counter.

"Thoughts, particularly from young drivers, about how cannabis use can
actually improve driving ability because you're more focused and
you're more concentrated - completely, completely unreasonable based
on the empirical evidence," he said.

Manitobans will receive MPI's new messaging through radio, television,
billboards, newspapers and theatres, as well as at school assemblies
and through driver's education courses for high school students.

Social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
YouTube, will be used to spread the message, Keith said.

The campaign will also include messaging around prescription drug use,
including medical marijuana.

"We're going to do this in partnership with the medical community in
Manitoba, to encourage physicians to continue having conversations
with their patients about how prescription medications can affect
concentration, reaction time and driving focus, all of which increase
the risk of being involved in a collision," Keith said.

Pallister described road safety and enforcement as "a leading area of
concern" for his government as cannabis legalization approaches.

An online survey launched by the provincial government on Wednesday as
part of its pre-budget consultations includes questions about cannabis
legalization.

"Educating our youth, new, and current drivers is imperative if we
hope to change peoples' attitudes, behaviours, and the misconceptions
around the use of marijuana while driving," Pallister said.

"As we worked for decades, and will continue to do so, to change the
attitude towards drinking and driving, now we must do the same in
advance of the legalization of cannabis."
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MAP posted-by: Matt