Impaired driver

I am writing to inform the public about the dangers of impaired drivers who are on the roads at all times of the day. On November 30th at approximately 2:10 pm, I was travelling on KLO Road, right in front of the College, heading towards Richter when this beige/gold colored Chrysler Sebring barreled up behind me and without any effort to avoid me, slow down, or stop, seemingly on purpose, swerved and smashed into the back of my car, then veered around me and took off. 

After honking my horn for a bit they finally stopped and a woman stepped out screaming obscenities, staggering, and making very little sense. When she realized I was on the phone with 9-1-1 she jumped back into the car, swerved out into traffic, ran the crosswalk red light and sped off. When the police arrived I was advised that they'd had numerous calls about this driver and had been searching for them for some time. 

Fortunately I was able to give them an accurate license plate number, vehicle description and description of the female driver. The damage to my vehicle is significant, I have an injured shoulder, back and neck from the impact, but it could have been a lot worse. There could have been people in the crosswalk, it was about the time children are getting out of school, it is a residential area with elderly people walking and in wheelchairs, I could have been killed. Thankfully the RCMP did a wonderful job in apprehending this person who tried to evade an impaired driving charge by parking, exiting her vehicle and lying down on a bench inside a restaurant, which tells me she was not impaired enough to not know she was in the wrong, she was aware that her actions were illegal and she had total disregard for anyone else. I attended the parking lot and was able to identify her as the driver of the vehicle that hit me, best part, she was taken away in handcuffs. 

The reason I am revealing so much detail is that because this is a "unique" case I have not been given any further details about the arrest, the accused, the charges and I'm super ticked off that yet again the criminal is being treated with way more consideration than the victim. No fault of the police this is completely on our legal system's continual pity party for criminals and in particular impaired drivers. 

No doubt there are those out there who will say "innocent until proven guilty", you will say that until it is you or your loved one affected by such a crime. I have never been one of those, I have been involved over the years in promoting anti drinking and driving in other communities I have lived in and in raising my 3 children who feel as I do about this particular crime, all of us in our family know of at least one person who was killed or maimed by a drunk driver, a crime that there is completely no excuse for.

My solution would be to confiscate the vehicle of the impaired driver, permanently. No, they don't get it back (if it is their vehicle), ever. Why? Because taking away their license or driving privileges makes no difference to them, they don't care, but if you take away their weapon (as you would with an illegally used gun) than they have nothing to drive. This would cost them way more money and time and thought than losing their license or getting a fine. In addition, any impaired driver who causes an accident resulting in damage or injury should get jail time, period, along with a criminal record. It's time victims start mattering, it's time victims stopped being afraid of having their names and information put out there, it's time we stood up for those of us who respect the laws and other human beings without fear or embarrassment. As long as the criminal support system continues to be stronger than the victim's, victims will always lose.

Bernice Leduc