Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/245179
At one point, Ohneck remembers looking at his speedometer – it read 165 km/h. The speed limit was 80 km/h. Volunteer driver Forest Ohneck poses at Edmonton's Castrol Raceway with the Youth Initiatives & Education in Lifestyles & Driving Association (YIELD) Camaro. the next set of lights, in Stony Plain. When they were revving up to race again, Ohneck suddenly saw red and blue lights flashing in his rear-view mirror. It was a police cruiser. He froze. A voice – the provincial traffic sheriff – boomed out over a megaphone, ordering them to pull over. After that, he had to go to court. The potential penalties were stiff: he could have had his vehicle impounded, his licence suspended or a fine of more than $2,600. In the end, he got lucky: he was sentenced to 250 hours of community service working for YIELD. It was the first time such an agreement had been made with Alberta Justice, says RCMP Const. Gord Buck, who runs YIELD. So Ohneck began taking time off from his job as a sheet metal worker to travel around the province. Through his story, and photos of a friend who was injured in a high-speed collision, he tried to convince the kids to make better decisions than he had. And they listened. "At schools, he's able to break down barriers because he's not some old crusty policeman," says Buck. "Having Forest along, it's almost peer to peer. They listen to him because he's got tattoos, he's a young fellow and he speaks very well." Ohneck says he came to enjoy the positive influence he had on the kids. But the work changed him, too. He started to follow speed limits and think before acting – something he says he wasn't doing on that November evening in 2008 when he got his ticket. "I wasn't thinking of the 'what ifs' down the road, I was thinking of the here and now," Ohneck says. "I firmly believe that I might have ended up in Knock three the ditch or [hit] a power points off your licence pole; the possibilities by passing AMA's online Demerit Reduction Defensive Driver Course. AMADriver Education.ca Want to Lose Your Licence? Just Add demerits Every time you're convicted of a traffic-safety infraction, you 'earn' demerit points 8-14: you receive a notice from the government notifying you of your demerit count. if you're a new driver, your licence is automatically suspended at eight demerits. 15: your licence is suspended for one month. Add a second demerit suspension in the same year and you can say goodbye to driving for three months. A third, and you lose your licence for six months, and you may have to appear before the Alberta Transportation safety board. Ouch: Once a demerit-point suspension has been served, your licence is reinstated with seven points. These "leftover" points remain on your record for a full two years. SAMPLE TRAFFIC INFRACTIONS & DEMERIT POINTS Failing to stop for a peace officer Improper turn 5 demerits 2 demerits STOP Failing to stop at a stop sign Failing to stop for a school bus 3 demerits 6 demerits Following too closely 4 demerits Failing to remain at the scene of an accident 7 demerits S p r i n g 2 0 14 | W e s t W o r l d a l b e r ta 43 p40-50_WorstDriving.indd 43 14-01-10 3:46 PM