TorontoMothers Against Drunk Driving Canada launched its 38th annual Red Ribbon national campaign in Bowmanville, Ont., Thursday. The organization was joined by the Durham Regional Police Service and the family of 22-year-old Rebecca Beatty, who was killed by an impaired driver.Rebecca Beatty, 22, was struck by an oncoming driver in Trenton, Ont., in 2021Listen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesMothers Against Drunk Driving Canada launched its 38th annual Red Ribbon national campaign in Bowmanville, Ont., Thursday. (Martin Trainor/CBC)Rebecca Beatty’s family knows the cost of impaired driving too well, ever since she was ripped away from them abruptly — killed after a drunk driver collided with her in Trenton, Ont.Beatty, whose mother described her as an intelligent, talented and selfless young woman, was just 22 years old when her life was cut short and she was robbed of a future due to someone else’s reckless behaviour. “She was my precious gift,” Connie Beatty said Thursday at the Mothers Against Drunk Driving 38th annual Red Ribbon campaign launch in Bowmanville, Ont.“When I say this broke us, and this changed our lives to a point of no repair, I’m not exaggerating,” Connie said.On Oct. 3, 2021, the Quinte West, Ont., resident was driving her friend home on Sunday, having spent the morning planning a wedding. Around 12:30 p.m., as they drove eastbound, their car was struck by an oncoming driver who had crossed into their lane. The crash killed the girls. And the driver of the other vehicle was impaired, Connie said. Before Beatty’s passing, the family home was filled with laughter, warm smells and improvised karaoke, her mother said. “We cooked and baked together, we cleaned the house to Shania Twain playing loudly on the stereo system. We often had girl dance parties in the kitchen … Popcorn nights all cuddled up watching Hallmark movies,” she said. “Those things are nonexistent now.”The holidays are a particularly difficult time for the family.“It seems lifeless,” Connie said. “This will be my life sentence and trauma.”Impaired driving is a story Rebecca Beatty’s family knows too well, after their daughter and sister was ripped away from them abruptly after a collision in Trenton, Ont. (Martin Trainor)’An epidemic’ of drunk driving, MADD saysNow, four years after she lost her daughter, Connie is advocating for safe driving in the hopes of preventing others from losing their loved ones.“People need to remember that driving is a privilege and not a right. There are rules and guidelines to follow when we choose to drive,” she said. “Creating awareness in hopes to save others from this pain and tragedy has become my mission.”MADD Canada’s Red Ribbon campaign, which was launched in collaboration with Durham Regional Police Service, will see volunteers across the country distributing red ribbons and car decals to the public until Jan. 5, 2026.So far this year, Durham police has laid 600 impaired driving charges. Of those people, 16 per cent had previous impaired driving convictions, Chief Peter Moreira said Thursday.Moreira said that between 2015 and 2025, there were 289 impairment related collisions causing injuries. “[The tragedies] represent lives lost, families shattered, and communities changed forever,” said MADD national president Tanya Hansen Pratt. “We don’t highlight enough how prevalent impaired driving is. It is an epidemic.”Hansen Pratt said impaired driving charges are “entirely preventable.”“We don’t want an empty chair at the dinner table during the holidays due to someone’s selfish decision to drive impaired,” she said.MADD Canada is calling on the federal government to make anti-impaired driving technology a standard feature in all new vehicles.’Together we can make a change’After the campaign launch, Moreira told CBC Toronto that he’s optimistic about the recent proposed bail reform changes that have since become legislation.“We focus on some of the more violent crime, including gun crime, and we forget that more victims will be injured by impaired drivers than they will by any bullet fired in this country,” Moreira said.Earlier this month, the Liberal government introduced new legislation that would see greater scrutiny and harsher sentences intended to keep some offenders locked up for longer, as the country tries to crack down on crime rates.Connie says change starts from something as simple as making drinking less socially acceptable.“We can be happy and we can have a good time without having alcohol, as they say, liquid courage,” she said. “Together we can make a difference. Together we can make a change.”ABOUT THE AUTHORGabriela Silva Ponte has been with CBC Toronto Local News since January 2025, at first in an internship capacity and afterwards as an Editorial Assistant. Previously, she worked in Portuguese media, CBC Dragons’ Den and her university’s school newspaper and radio station. She graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University with a Bachelor of Journalism and minors in Criminology and Politics. You can reach her at gabriela.silva.ponte@cbc.ca.
Family of Quinte West woman killed by impaired driver kicks off annual MADD campaign
