A crashed vehicle is now on display in the parking lot of the Stettler Recreation Centre in Stettler, Alberta, as part of a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) campaign. The wrecked car was placed on July 6, 2026, to serve as a stark visual reminder of what can happen when someone drives impaired.
MADD’s Crashed Car Campaign exhibits real vehicles from impaired driving collisions at high-traffic locations across Canada during the summer. The Stettler display is part of a wider push to make people think twice before getting behind the wheel after drinking. It comes at a time when impaired driving numbers are moving in the wrong direction.
Nationally, 521 Canadians lost their lives in crashes involving a drinking driver in 2022, a 14% increase over the year before. Self-reported impaired driving is also climbing sharply. In 2025, about one in ten drivers admitted to driving when they thought they were over the legal limit, up from 5.9% in 2024. Alberta has an impaired driving rate of 175 incidents per 100,000 residents, well above provinces like Ontario.
MADD Canada’s national president, Tanya Hansen Pratt, has called impaired driving an epidemic. The organization is urging the federal government to make anti-impaired driving technology a standard safety feature in all new vehicles.
Alberta RCMP regularly run CheckStop operations to catch impaired drivers. Sgt. Darrin Turnbull of Alberta RCMP Traffic warns that the danger goes beyond cars. “Never operate any motorized vehicle while impaired – this includes motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and other off-highway vehicles,” he stated.
The crashed car will remain in the parking lot for some time, giving people heading to the rec centre’s pool, arenas, or fitness centre a direct look at the real-life consequences of impaired driving.
