Hello all….its been awhile since my last post but the ladies of Ladybug have been incredibly busy and, as summer winds down, I was looking forward to a little down time. But, here I am on the first full day of Fall and I’ve been presented with an incredibly provocative issue. The other day, my business partner, Chris, went out like many of us do for dinner and drinks. The ladies had a fabulous time and at the end of the evening Chris checked her BAC on – what else? – her BAQ Tracker breathalyser and found that her BAC was in excess of the short-term suspension limit. Decision time. Of course, being a co-founder of Ladybug and an advocate of informed consumption, she made the only decision she could…she left her car and cabbed it home. The next morning she returned to her car and was surprised to find a fat little parking ticket worth $30. It appears that doing the right thing in uptown Waterloo is costly.
Chris has decided to fight her ticket and I will join her in court next Tuesday, Sept. 28th, to take on the establishment. Here are the facts:
- Waterloo Region is one of the top five worst communities for drinking and driving in Ontario
- Waterloo Region has a higher percentage of “heavy drinkers” than other parts of Ontario
- 50% of social drinkers underestimate their BAC
As I pointed out to the Mayor of Waterloo in a recent letter…”I’m sure you’ll agree that this kind of double “speak” is not acceptable in the 21st century. We, as a community, either fully support messaging that says “don’t drink and drive” or we don’t…we can’t be half pregnant.”
I invite any of you who wish to ensure that your community streets stay clear of both low BAC and high BAC drivers to join us in Waterloo Court next Tuesday. We want to make a statement about this kind of political inconsistency and make our politicians accountable for ensuring that “Don’t drink and Drive” means under any circumstances…ticketing responsible and informed drinkers is not the way to transform our communities into safe havens for our families and loved ones.