Impaired Driving

Driving is a serious responsibility and drivers should always be wide awake, in control and focussed on the road. Alcohol, drugs and fatigue change the way people think, behave, and drive.

Impaired driving remains a significant road safety, health and economic issue in Canada. Attitudes have changed a lot in the last 30 years. Back in the 1970s, Canadians often got behind the wheel after "having a few," while their friends looked on and laughed. That sort of thinking is outdated. In the 1980s, governments passed strict new laws and police forces tried harder to reduce drinking and driving. As a result, people became very aware of the dangers of drinking and driving. Significant progress was made in reducing the number of drivers on the roads who had been drinking. The number of impaired drivers pulled over at roadside checkpoints dropped. So did the number of impaired drivers killed in crashes.

But while this success is good, it is not enough. Canadians make over 7.4 million trips a year-any one of which could result in a crash. In 2007, roughly 1.84 million Canadians reported that they had driven when they felt they were over the legal limit. In fact, about one-third of all Canadian drivers killed in car crashes had been drinking.

Impaired drivers are not the only ones who suffer. Over 1,000 Canadians, impaired and sober, die each year in alcohol-related crashes. In total, these crashes cost Canadians over $10.6 billion a year in lost wages, property damage and health-care costs.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, all levels of government have been working together on impaired driving through the Strategy to Reduce Impaired Driving (STRID) of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA). Governments are continuing to strengthen policies and programs to address impaired driving with medical assessment and treatment, alcohol ignition interlocks, administrative licence suspensions and vehicle impoundment. The Criminal Code of Canada has been amended to increase the penalties under the Criminal Code, streamline the law and authorize the use of Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) to deal with drug impairment.

Legislative options include the use of random breath tests, mandatory testing after a serious collision and how best to deal with low-level Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) drivers. Possible improvements in alcohol ignition interlock programs include increasing their use and the development of the next generation of devices, which operate passively.

Enforcement efforts by police is a key requirement to remind drivers of all ages of the serious criminal, financial and injury risks an impaired driver faces.

In the end, the decision to drink and drive or not is a personal decision. All drivers need to consider their behaviour and how to best protect themselves, their family and friends and other road users who depend on them to make a safe decision.