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INUVIK
The Inuvik RCMP handed out 62 impaired driving charges between January and August of this year, according to Staff Sgt. Wayne Norris, but one Inuvik resident said a recent close call on the Dempster Highway should be a sign enforcement needs to be stepped up.

Impaired driving charges spike every summer in Inuvik, according to the RCMP. This Toyota, pictured in June 2005, flipped off the road and both its driver and passenger ended up in the hospital. At the time, police said alcohol was a factor. - NNSL file photo

"We were coming over a hill (on the highway), back from the GTC (Gwich'in Tribal Council) assembly, and a truck was coming at us head on," explained Cheryl Greenland.

"They swerved to get out of our way because they were on our side of the road. They were swerving so bad we didn't think they'd make it, so we turned around and went to check and see if they were OK."

After turning around to check on the vehicle, Greenland found the car flipped in the ditch between Cabin Creek and Caribou Creek. Greenland said the driver and passenger were inside the vehicle, surrounded by empty beer bottles.

"If we didn't get them off the road, they might have killed somebody for sure. They just missed us," she said.

Norris said Inuvik faces unique challenges, with its transient population, 24-hour sunlight and role as the hub of the Delta, but by no means has an out-of-control problem with drunk driving.

"We certainly don't hold the market on impaired driving in Canada," he said.

In July, the Inuvik RCMP charged 13 people with impaired driving, bringing their 2011 total to 62 charges with five months left to tally.

In comparison, they handed out 87 charges in 2010 and 97 charges in 2009.

Most years, charges spike during the summer months.

One reason for this, according to Norris, is all the events the town hosts that bring in tourists, trade show participants and conference delegates who use the time away from home to let loose.

"It's like, 'Oh yeah, I can let my hair down. Nobody knows me. Let's go,'" he said.

For Norris, education, awareness and community involvement – not just increased enforcement – are key to controlling impaired driving.

"We're always vigilant of impaired drivers. Unfortunately, we can't be everywhere all the time," he said.

"We're only as good as the information we receive. If we don't know about it, how do we react?"

Inuvik residents have to report drinking and driving more, he said, so the RCMP can act on it. Norris said a second option, if residents don't want to call the police, is to call Crime Stoppers.

Greenland said she chose the first option and called the police just minutes after the accident, at around 10:25 p.m.

Sgt. Peter Pilgrim of the Inuvik RCMP said the two people inside the crashed truck were taken to hospital by ambulance after the crash earlier this month and said the investigation is ongoing.

"We're not, at this point, sure of the cause of the accident," he said.

Greenland said she was shaken by the incident, and wishes people who face close calls like that could lay charges themselves.

"They nearly killed us," she said.

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