The story was widely reported in the media at the time and the images of Alexa, a beautiful little girl, were published widely and newspapers continued to report on the police investigation, the upcoming trial of the driver, and the Middelaer family’s efforts to remember their daughter and to “glean some good” from their tragic loss.

 

The efforts to create a beneficial long term consequence, include the donation of money to the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation (TSF) fund established for three purposes: to educate the public about impaired driving, impaired driving laws and other government initiatives; to advocate for changes to policies and processes related to eliminating impaired driving; and to recognize the efforts of individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the ‘fight’ against impaired driving.

 

The TSF’s mission to educate and inform the public about impaired driving is carried out in part through its website: www.tsfbcaa.com which received, according to the TSF 2008 Annual Report, over 116,500 visits in 2007.  The ‘News’ page of the website includes a list of the latest media releases from the TSF.

 

In the TSF list is a report dated June 19, 2009 on a pilot project in Nanaimo BC to encourage 911 calls to report suspected impaired drivers.  The project is a collaborative initiative by the Nanaimo RCMP, the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, MADD Canada, the City of Nanaimo and the TSF to educate the driving public that impaired driving remains the number one cause of criminal death in Canada—driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs constituting criminal driving behaviour—and that 911 call centres in the area will take and process calls reporting suspected impaired drivers.

 

New signage installed by the City of Nanaimo encourages the public to pull over and call 911 when they see a vehicle being driven dangerously. This will also help the police to intercept drivers attempting to dodge police road checks. The following information is required: the license plate number, a description of the vehicle, and the location and direction in which the vehicle is traveling.

 

The TSF report notes that, “In a recent survey, eighty percent of British Columbians said they [were] more concerned about impaired driving than about any other [societal] problem, yet… that one in five admitted to driving after drinking.”  It points out that summer is a season of increased social activity and “sees the highest number of incidents of people driving while impaired.”  It also notes that “a majority of impaired drivers… [come] from private functions involving friends, family or colleagues … and it adds,  “Allowing someone to leave your company who may be impaired should not be an option.”