Spotting an erratic driver can be a life-and-death situation and merits calling 911.

That’s the message the six police services in Simcoe County joined together to stress this week, at the launch of the Safe Roads …Your Call campaign.

Signs urging drivers to call 911 to report impaired driving are literally going up over the next several weeks throughout the region, just in time for the start of the busy holiday season, during which traffic on area roads skyrockets as boaters, beach-seekers and cottagers return to the area.

“We’re attempting to decrease the senseless carnage on our highways,” said OPP Chief Superintendent Ken Smith.

“Certainly impaired driving might be the cause of erratic driving. It’s important when people see erratic driving, they call local police. The cause could be medical or fatigue, but nevertheless it causes a hazard on the road. Call police and let us determine the cause.”

Orillia Mayor Ron Stevens lost a son to a highway incident almost a year ago – and at the official launch of the Safe Roads campaign, he urged everyone to not hesitate in making the call.

“A year next week, we will go through again the healing process about our son, killed in a road-rage incident. If you have an inkling someone may be impaired, call. You may well be saving someone’s life,” said Stevens.

“Thousands of cars go through the Highway 11/400 area, but police can’t get them all. They need our help. Join and support this (campaign) and call 911.”

Started by the MADD York Region chapter in partnership with York Regional Police almost a year ago, the Safe Roads program received 1,752 calls – and nabbed 246 impaired drivers.

In Simcoe County, the six police services laid 1,255 impaired driving or over-80 charges, and issued 417 12-hour suspensions in 2007.

Impaired driving is the number-one criminal cause of death in Canada. More than 70,000 Canadians are killed or seriously injured in impaired-driving crashes, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. On average, four Canadians are killed and another 187 are injured in alcohol and drug-related car crashes each year.

The hope is they’ll catch more this year, and make the roads safer as the busy tourist season begins.

“We need to stop the senseless killing. This will empower you, the public, to call, to pick your cellphone and eliminate the senseless slaughter,” said MADD’s Barrie-Simcoe chapter president Jason Larkin.

“This is an emergency on the roads the moment you see it. These are not accidents; they are crashes. An impaired driver, an erratic driver, a fatigued driver is not an accident.”

The bottom line is, the call is simple to make and it has a profound effect.

“This is your county and our community. We’re not talking only about impaired driving, but erratic driving. Make the call – 911. Safe Roads Your Call is your call,” said South Simcoe Police Chief Bruce Davis.