MADD Ottawa launches Red Ribbon campaign at Ottawa City Hall

Mothers Against Drunk Driving launched its annual red ribbon campaign at Ottawa City Hall reminding revelers to never drive impaired. CTV’s Josh Marano reports.

MADD Ottawa officially launched its annual Project Red Ribbon campaign at Ottawa City Hall on Monday, marking the start of its holiday push to prevent impaired driving.

The annual campaign sees people tie red ribbons to their vehicles and keychains as a visible reminder to not drive impaired during the busy holiday season.

Ottawa Police say impaired driving incidents typically rise this time of year. Chief Eric Stubbs says there have been 733 impaired driving charges issued so far this year. He adds it will likely exceed the 837 they had last year.

“That’s not good news. We want the numbers to go down,” Stubbs said. “We will still be there, the sustained effort will be there, and you won’t escape us, so, please, I’m talking to the Ottawa public, plan your night.”

For Geoff Leckey, Monday was a somber reminder of his daughter, who was killed by a drunk driver while she was attending the University of Toronto in 2018.

“She was walking home from the university library one night, about a 15-minute walk and she was two minutes away from being safe in her apartment when a very drunk driver who had been drinking all evening was going in the wrong direction on a one-way street, went through a red light and hit Emma, and killed her.”

He says he hopes his story and experience is a wake-up call for drivers, especially during the holiday season, to plan travel accordingly and not get behind the wheel while impaired.

“Our message is to remember that commitment, especially during the party season. What we ask people to do is to not drive impaired, not to get into a car that’s being driven by a driver who is clearly impaired and have a plan. Know at the start of the evening how you’re going to get home safely,” he said.

“The reason we do this is so that other families don’t have to go through the loss and the pain that my family has suffered.”

Project Red Ribbon runs until early January.

Details on how to obtain a ribbon can be found on MADD’s website.

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