A couple of weekends ago I took the opportunity to do a ride-along with Const. Nick Zouroudis, a member of Jasper’s RCMP detachment, during his Saturday night shift.

We did the rounds, patrolling Patricia Street, checking on some inebriated guests who had left a wedding reception and chatting with managers at local hot spots to see how the night was going.

I was hoping to see some action, and around 1:30 a.m. it happened. A vehicle down the road from us had turned into the wrong lane of traffic. Realizing the mistake, the driver hopped the curb and drove across the median, getting back onto the correct side of the road.

The cruiser pulled up behind the offender, lights on, and the vehicle slowed to a halt on the side of the road. Before Zouroudis could put his own car in park, the driver suddenly burned rubber and sped away, with us hot on his tail.

To my disappointment, Zouroudis found a safe place to pull over and let me off. Apparently ride-alongs aren’t allowed on high-speed chases.

Zouroudis and another officer on duty that night tracked the driver down after he had left town, then doubled back to his hotel. They couldn’t confirm he’d been driving under the influence, but based on the erratic behaviour and empty alcohol containers found in his vehicle, it seemed likely.

As I finished the night shadowing Zouroudis, I got thinking about how illogical it is that someone would drink and drive in a place as small as Jasper, where it’s so easy and quick to walk anywhere or hop in a cab. It’s the same reaction some people have when they see reports of celebrities arrested for driving under the influence – why wouldn’t someone with exorbitant amounts of disposable income just hire a driver?

Actually, Zouroudis said, the trend seems to be the reverse. He finds when in Jasper, some people think because they have such a short distance to travel, that they’ll make it, or they won’t get caught.

In 2005, it was estimated that 3,226 individuals were killed in motor vehicle crashes in Canada. Of those, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada estimates there are somewhere between 1,280 and 1,500 impaired crash fatalities in Canada each year, or 3.5 to 4.1 deaths per day.

Not everyone shares the same logic but this seems like common sense. We’ve heard it again and again, but I will write it once more: please, plan ahead, do not drink and drive, and encourage others to do the same.