New road safety campaign targets cannabis-impaired driving

A new community safety campaign launches this May long weekend to raise awareness about the dangers of cannabis-impaired driving. Led by the Regional Road Safety Committee and the Grey Bruce Community Safety and Well-Being Planning Crime Prevention Action Table, the campaign aims to prevent injuries and fatalities by promoting safe driving habits, particularly among young drivers, while increasing awareness of Ontario’s driving laws.

The campaign launches this weekend on social media and through education at local police-conducted R.I.D.E. Programs, cannabis dispensaries and various organizations across the region.

The need for education and awareness

Data shows cannabis impaired driving is a serious risk on Ontario’s roads:

• Cannabis is the second leading substance linked to fatal motor vehicle collisions (24%), according to the Canadian Substance Use Cost and Harms Report.
• Among fatally injured drivers who tested positive for drugs, 54.7% had cannabis in their system, with drivers aged 20-34 most at risk, according to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (2023).
• Students are particularly vulnerable: 6% of licensed students admitted to driving after using cannabis, and 9% reported being passengers with drug-impaired drivers, according to a 2023 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey.
• A public survey to gather public opinion research on drug-impaired driving showed that 30% of respondents said they had travelled in a vehicle when they knew the driver was high.

Campaign components

These statistics highlight the urgent need for targeted education. In response, the campaign will deliver information through multiple channels:

• Social media and digital ads, targeting individuals on Spotify and Snapchat
• Print materials at organizations across the region
• Education at community events and music festivals
• Community panel discussions with experts to answer cannabis and driving related questions

This initiative is made possible through funding from the Community Foundation Grey Bruce Fall 2024 Grant and United Way of Bruce Grey’s Safe Communities Fund.

Learn more about the dangers of cannabis-impaired driving.

What is the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan (CSWBP) Grey-Bruce?  

Community Safety and Well Being Planning helps organizations improve the things that keep us healthy, happy, and safe. Together, we use research to create solutions focused on education, health care, food, housing, income, crime, and belonging. It is important that we create a welcoming community where problems are solved before they happen and where different professionals and community members come together to help people now and in the future. 

The ongoing work of CSWBP is supported by an advisory committee representing over 74 partners from across Bruce and Grey who are working together to address crime prevention by investing in social development, prevention, and risk interventions. This upstream preventative model focuses on creating protective factors that make individuals less vulnerable to crime and victimization.  

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For more information, contact:

Carley Donaldson, Corporate Communications Specialist, Corporation of the County of Bruce

226-668-2235

cdonaldson [at] brucecounty.on.ca (cdonaldson[at]brucecounty[dot]on[dot]ca)

Rob Hatten, Communications Manager, Grey County

548-877-0730

rob.hatten [at] grey.ca (rob[dot]hatten[at]grey[dot]ca)