Attitudes lax about drunk driving: Poll
One in five Saskatchewan residents think drunk driving is okay “travelling a short distance on quiet roads,” according to a new survey.
“That’s too high. Anything above zero is too high,” said Saskatchewan’s Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) president Dylan Griffin.
The number is even higher when isolating replies of those aged 18 to 34.
“I think we still have this invincibility complex. We think ‘Oh, it’s just a grid road. We can make it.’ ” said Griffin, whose family friend died last year driving drunk on a quiet rural road.
The results suggest a large segment of the population still doesn’t understand the risks of drinking and driving, says the study’s author.
“That’s a lot of people on the road who think it’s okay. And they won’t all be caught,” said David Valentin, executive vice-president of Mainstreet Research.
According to the Mainstreet/ Postmedia survey, 19 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement, “Driving under the influence is OK if you are travelling a short distance on quiet roads.” Seventy-seven per cent disagreed while four per cent said they weren’t sure.
Agreement was significantly higher in smaller communities (22 per cent) than in Saskatoon (14 per cent) and Regina (15 per cent).
Pronounced differences were also apparent when broken down by age group. Just 13 per cent of seniors agreed, while 24 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 did.
Valentin said younger people may not have as much money to call cabs or rely on a support network. They’re also less likely to have families or other powerful motivations. There’s also the lack of life experience, he said.
“The longer you live, the more bad stories you’re going to hear (about drinking and driving). You’ll know more people who were hurt,” he said.
“We need to educate people a lot more.”
Incidents of self-reported drunk driving were found to be unlikely.
Surveyors also asked people whether they’d ever been a passenger in a vehicle where the driver was under the influence of alcohol. Fifteen per cent said they had.
They also asked whether respondents had ever driven under the influence of alcohol. Just eight per cent said yes.
Valentin suspect these responses are too low to be taken at face value. Many people minimize their role on this issue.
Even if they’re just answering a telephone survey, “people don’t want to admit they drink and drive,” Valentin said.
Valentin believes the responses about driving short distances on quiet roads are much more accurate because people don’t have to reflect on their own behaviour or that of their friends and family.
MAJORITY DON’T WANT MCMORRIS TO RUN AGAIN
Another survey question asked whether former provincial cabinet minister Don McMorris should run again after being charged with driving under the influence.
Just 10 per cent said he should, while 68 per cent said no. The remainder (22 per cent) were unsure.
Valentin said the condemnation of McMorris isn’t likely about the issue of drunk driving. Rather, it’s about hypocrisy. McMorris was minister responsible for the government auto insurer and led recent campaigns against drunk driving.
“People don’t like that — the hypocrisy of preaching to all Saskatchewan residents. It’s just too much for people to swallow.
During the provincial election campaign in the spring, the parties confirmed a total of five candidates (two NDP and three Saskatchewan Party) had been convicted of drunk driving. Two of them registered multiple convictions. Both parties said a criminal conviction should not disqualify a candidate if they have served their penalty and shown remorse.
The Liberal Party said it wasn’t sure if any of its candidates had been convicted of driving drunk, while the Green Party did not respond to a request during the campaign. A random sample of 1,690 Saskatchewan residents were surveyed August 22-23, 2016 on both cellphones and land lines. According to Mainstreet, the margin of error is within 2.38%, 19 times out of 20.