Survivors of impaired driving crashes recount the moments that changed their lives
Average of 61 people die in B.C. each year because of impaired driving
Bob Rorison still remembers the sounds of the crash after an impaired driver hit his car at an intersection in Richmond, B.C., in 1994.
"It was like an explosion. It was like a bomb went off," he said.
Thirty years later, Rorison returned to that same intersection at Alderbridge Way and No. 4 Road with CBC News.
"I can feel inside of me that — the tension and the images — remembering what happened that night, how vivid it is, even now," he said.
The sound of a revving engine is still hard for him to hear, he says.
"I can almost describe in detail the sounds, the scariness I felt, the way the car pirouetted in the middle of the intersection and hit that traffic light," he said.
In B.C., an average of 61 people die each year because of impaired driving, and ICBC says it is the third leading cause of death on the road, behind speeding and distracted driving.
Ahead of New Year's Eve, CBC News spoke with people who have first-hand experience of the impacts of impaired driving.
Rorison said that while he survived the crash, his business didn't. As he suffered the devastating psychological and physical consequences of being hit by a vehicle, his aircraft maintenance business struggled and went bankrupt.
"I had to spend years and years in recovery … getting my back, back in order, my legs my arms. So I lost a lot of business, and over a period of time, I just couldn't recover," he said.
Lifelong injuries
Beyond the life-changing and potentially fatal consequences for victims of impaired driving, the personal, social and financial consequences for drivers who drink and drive are costly.
According to ICBC, drivers can face licence suspensions of 24 hours to 90 days, vehicle impoundment, fines ranging from $600 to more than $4,000, jail time, mandated rehab and higher car insurance costs.
Furthermore, the provincial insurance corporation says that driving while impaired means a driver is likely contravening their existing insurance policy. As a result, the driver can be held responsible for all costs associated with damaging someone else's vehicle or property or injuring victims.
And the victims also feel the consequences acutely.
Burnaby resident Marita Maas still feels the impact of the crash that upended her life 17 years ago.
In 2007, an impaired driver crashed into her car head-on in Port Moody, B.C., while on her way home from work.
She was sent to hospital with extensive injuries: a broken left leg, broken left arm, sprained right arm, several fractures in her right leg, a fractured pelvis, and a fracture on her left eye orbital. She was in hospital for more than three weeks and underwent multiple surgeries.
"I still feel sharp pains deep inside my hip joint," she said. "It limits what I can do or even what I think I'm able to do for the rest of my life," she said.
Maas shared her victim impact statement with CBC News, which she wrote two months after the crash. It details that she had a baby and a toddler at home and that her husband was left to care for them day and night. It also says that her stay in hospital meant an abrupt end to breastfeeding their nine-month-old and that their toddler was traumatized by her incapacitation and temporary disappearance from the home.
"Even though I am home now, I am unable to be with my children unattended since I cannot hold them or pick them up. I cannot walk, [or] climb the stairs of my house to read them a story before bed," the statement reads.
Now, speaking to CBC News 17 years after the crash, Maas hopes others won't repeat the same mistakes as the driver who hit her.
"I look at pictures of my car [ruined] like this, and I think back to all of the pain and everything that I experienced and the fact that it is a 100 per cent preventable crime," she said.
Planning a ride
There are a variety of safe travel options available to partiers on New Year's Eve, including assigning a designated driver ahead of time or arranging for a pickup from a family member.
In Metro Vancouver, TransLink is providing free rides and extended services to everyone between 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 until 5 a.m. on Jan. 1.
Buses will go later than usual and be free in many municipalities serviced by B.C. Transit.
Operation Red Nose, a free chauffeur service that provides you with a safe driver who can drive you in your own vehicle, is available on New Year's Eve in Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Kamloops, Prince George and Williams Lake.
In the aftermath of the crashes, both survivors received support from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Since then, they've both gone on to volunteer with the organization.
Rorison is a former president of MADD Metro Vancouver. Maas is also sparking change with MADD by giving presentations in schools about the impacts of impaired driving.
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With files from Janella Hamilton