Honking and cheering could be heard on Yellowknife’s Franklin Avenue Thursday morning as students raised awareness about distracted and impaired driving.
The event was organized by Students Against Destructive Decisions – or Sadd – and was attended by roughly 25 participants.
“There’s a lot of cases where people are drinking and driving, especially in younger students. So we want people to know about this message and be more aware of the issue,” said Lan Phan, co-president of Sadd.
Attendees displayed signs promoting safer driving habits and encouraged passing drivers to honk in support.
Phan said while they cannot stop people from drinking, they can encourage drivers to avoid all distractions while behind the wheel, like texting, eating or applying makeup.
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Sadd previously stood for Students Against Drunk Driving and was established in Yellowknife in 1994. There are similar organizations in other Canadian jurisdictions like Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving or Students Against Drinking and Driving Saskatchewan.
Phan said the NWT group’s name change a few years ago was meant to reflect a broader focus on destructive driving behaviours.
Co-president Alexis Kelly said Sadd organizes similar demonstrations every few weeks when weather and scheduling allow. Members volunteer to take part, and the group regularly sees strong turnout for its awareness campaigns, she said. Sadd also runs coat checks for events.
Kelly has been involved with Sadd since Grade 8, while Phan joined the organization in Grade 10. This year marks their first as co-presidents following the graduation of the club’s previous president.
According to the two, the demonstration was less about creating an immediate impact and more about keeping the message visible in the community and reminding drivers to make safer choices on the road.
“We think it’s really important that people know who we are and just remember to drive safe,” Kelly said.
