Drivers Get Free Calls For Operation Christmas

TRANSPORTATION/PUBLIC WORKS--Drivers Get Free Calls For Operation Christmas

Twenty-thousand Nova Scotia drivers will receive free phone cards at roadside spot checks this holiday season.

Police will hand out the 20-minute calling cards as part of Operation Christmas, a joint effort by government, police departments, the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) and Aliant to stop impaired driving and to make our highways safer.

"Nova Scotians expect, and deserve, safe highways and streets," said Premier John Hamm today, Dec. 2, at the launch of Operation Christmas. "They expect, and deserve, their fellow drivers to make smart choices, to have that designated driver, to call that taxi -- to do whatever it takes to stop impaired driving."

Members from every law enforcement agency in the province set up checkpoints in New Glasgow today to launch the annual campaign to reduce impaired driving during the holiday season.

This has already been a tough year for traffic collisions and police, government and corporate sponsors want to reverse that trend. Over the first 11 months of 2004 there have been 86 fatalities on our roads; in 2003 there were 67 during the same period. Alcohol is the leading contributing factor in fatal collisions, followed by speed and inattention at the wheel.

"This road safety initiative truly shows the value in partnerships -- together we achieve a common goal, providing awareness and education about the problems of drinking and driving as well as enforcement," said Const. Ken MacDonald on behalf of the New Glasgow Police Service.

The NSLC and Aliant are supplying the 20,000 free phone cards to police to hand out to drivers at checkpoints during the holidays. The cards are meant to remind drivers who drink to find alternate ways to get home.

"Promoting intelligent consumption is a key mandate of the NSLC," said Ken Barbet, president and CEO, NSLC. "Operation Christmas represents an important part of the NSLC's holiday season campaign to encourage Nova Scotians to plan ahead to get home safe."

"We're pleased to partner with organizations that are committed, as Aliant is, to making Nova Scotia a better, safer place to live and work," said Joan Penney, Aliant regional vice president Nova Scotia and P.E.I., sales.

Operation Christmas will wind down in early January 2005, but police are always on the lookout for impaired drivers.

Nova Scotia's road safety partners are working toward reaching benchmarks set by Road Safety Vision 2010, a national plan to reduce the number of road users killed and seriously injured by 2010.

Nova Scotia's road safety advisory committee helps government develop road safety priorities and programs. The committee includes members of non-profit organizations, government, industry, police and others.