Drivers who are impaired by alcohol, drugs, or both, continue to be a serious threat on the roads in Chatham-Kent.
And local police have spread the message so many times and in so many ways that they're at a loss for how to drive the warning home for motorists.
"I don't know what else we can do to get the message home. People don't seem to listen to the messages until they are ultimately involved," said Sergeant Jim Lynds who is in charge of the traffic management unit with CK Police Services.
Of the 14 fatal motor vehicle collisions in 2023, eight involved impaired drivers.
While the number of suspensions and criminal charges resulting from the Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) has decreased between 2019 and 2023, driving while under the influence is still a problem in the Chatham-Kent community.
"Anytime you have somebody who makes that decision to drink and drive are putting other road users in jeopardy so is that an issue for sure," said Lynds. "We want everyone to get home safely at the end of the night."
The General Manager of Chatham-Kent EMS, Jeff Brooks, echoes that sentiment.
"You are so focused on the patient care piece of it... and we leave the 'why' up to law enforcement to figure out. We worry about the 'what' part, what are the injuries and keeping the person alive." said Brooks.
In the moment, the same goes for CK police.
"We are taught to start the investigation and start collecting evidence. So oftentimes it's not till after that you can go, 'This is another case where someone has intentionally made that choice -- why can't they choose another path?'" said Lynds.
Making the right choice is a no-brainer for the two first responders, which is why it is surprising to learn that the majority of drinking is now occurring in the home.
"I review all our impaired driving arrest records and one thing we see is there is a lot of drinking at home, and then deciding to drive after consuming at home or a friend's residence," said Lynds.
"Really, from a policing perspective, we would rather see a proactive response and people making that choice not to drink and drive. Because ultimately, if they already made that choice, then there is the potential for something to occur," added Lynds.
Brooks firmly believes that even if the drinking is happening at home, people should still have a plan on how they are going to travel somewhere as it can still come up. He says one way to break the cycle is to plan ahead.
"Just having that culture amongst your family and groups that you're with to have those alternate plans in place like who is going to drive tonight if people are unable to drive. How are we going to get people home from my home if they've been drinking. Have a plan," said Brooks.
Again, that is where the frustration lies, and first responders are starting to feel like they sound like a broken record.
"I don't know what other steps we can take. Over the last few decades we've increased the penalties from an enforcement strategy, so now there are greater consequences," said Lynds. "Suspensions, impounding of your car, [raising] insurance...we've done a ton of proactive media campaigns, we have RIDE programs so we are visible out there as well... I don't know what else."
One thing CK Police is doing internally to try and curb impaired driving is training its officers.
"Since the marijuana legislation came in, both federal and provincial governments have offered funding, and our service has taken advantage of that in training our officers in recognizing both impaired by alcohol but more importantly we now have a number of officers trained to recognize impaired by drug cases so that's not a barrier for us," said Lynds.
As for where impaired driving might be more prevalent like on a particular roadway, in a municipality like Chatham-Kent, Lynds said that is extremely difficult to pinpoint.
"Because of the make-up of our municipality is small town rural and larger centers to say one area has a problem is kind of unfair because it might also be based on population. So, if there are more people there could be the potential there are more calls in that area. But is that a function of it's worse in that area or are there larger demographics. Something like the size of Chatham versus one of our small hamlets -- it's two totally different factors," said Lynds.
Brooks offers up one reason as to why he thinks impaired driving is still such a big problem.
"Some people just have that mentality that it won't happen to me, or I'm fine... I've been doing it for 20 years and been fine," said Brooks. "I don't know how you get that mindset to change for those people. But probably the biggest influence is the people around them. Take their keys, or if someone is coming to your house to have drinks to dissuade them from driving home. For some people, l think the only thing they listen to are their friends or family."