charges laid in Muskoka

It was a bad year for drownings in 2008, after one horrific accident (the photo of the crushed guard rail is telling-copyrighted to the Toronto Star) and we had more drownings later last summer.

I wrote, back on July 9th, 2008, about death by drowning after a drinking and driving incident that took the lives of 3 young men. The driver had had a number of driving violations, and really should not have been driving. He was charged with public drunkenness on Canada Day, July 1st. His father has been fighting for tougher licensing laws for young drivers. The 20-year old driver, and his two dead passengers, had a total of 15 traffic violations between them.

"The vehicle had hit and peeled back about 30 feet of guardrail, and had launched itself and snapped some pine trees off approximately 25 feet in the air," Jim Sawkins, fire chief for the Township of Muskoka Lakes, told CBC News. The 3 kids drowned. One (female) passenger escaped. She was quite lucky.

Driving habits in Central Ontario, while they cannot be any more outrageous than elsewhere, seem to reflect people who are in a rush to get to their destination, with little concern about the drivers around them. Some of the issues are the fact that enforcement of these laws is difficult, with laws that govern new drivers in a graduated licencing system that prohibits driving in the wee hours, and alcohol.

The big news this month, reported by The Globe, The Toronto Star, and the Bracebridge Examiner, says that 34 charges have been laid against the private, exclusive club, CLubLink Corporation, the board of directors, the manager and the servers that served the 3 young men and woman 31 drinks over the course of two or three hours.

The problem with these charges is that the servers, trained in Smart Serve to withhold alcohol after patrons have had enough, must follow the policies of their managers and club owners. A club manager in Toronto explained that those who are told they are cut off can become violent and he has been assaulted by such patrons. It has to be club policy to support the servers, often young people trying to earn a living, or paying their way through university. The onus must be on a club, with a reported membership fee of $62,500, and annual fees of nearly $5,000, to uphold the law and ensure that our roads are safe.

As long as the bottom line is profit, we will not be protected by those who continue to drink and drive. These charges bring home the idea that we are ALL responsible to ensure that our roads are safe: those who drink, speed, drive recklessly, their parents & friends who condone their behaviour, servers, bar owners, and the MTO that does not suspend those with violations.