Impaired Driving

Information relating to impaired driving.

CASE LAW - McLeod v British Columbia

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThe case of McLeod v British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles) and The Attorney General of British Columbia challenges the constitutionality of s. 320.27(2) of the Criminal Code, which authorizes mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) of drivers for the presence of alcohol as an investigatory tool. Norma McLeod and Nicole Quashnick say that it infringes their ss. 8, 9 and 10(b) rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Beware the Morning After

Alco-Sensor FSTParty Hearty! Early in my policing career it was not uncommon to find a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level between .30 and .36. These people were truly drunk and not just impaired as most of us would start to be at the .05 level. Time to head for home and sleep it off because some of us have to be at work in the morning.

STUDY PROTOCOL - Measuring Levels of Cannabis, Alcohol and Other Substances in Injured Drivers

No Impaired DrivingThe background to this document states that: "As the prevalence of alcohol-impaired driving decreases, and as more jurisdictions decriminalize or legalize cannabis, it is increasingly important for policy makers to have accurate information on the prevalence and pattern of drug driving."

CASE LAW - R v Francisco

BC Courts Coat of ArmsThe case of R v Francisco involves a collision on June 7, 2019 in Burnaby that resulted in the death of a pedestrian, Louise Landreth. Roberto Francisco was driving a BMW sedan erratically over a period of about one hour and twenty minutes until a collision at high speed resulted in a loss of control and Ms. Landreth being struck and killed.

RESEARCH - Impaired Driving & Legalization of Recreational Cannabis

A recent article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal examined impaired driving and the legalization of recreational cannabis. It concluded that there is potential for a small but important increase in fatal motor vehicle collisions due to recreational marihuana use.

Drinking and Driving

Keys and DrinkWhoosh! Here comes a car overtaking my police vehicle at 144 km/h in the posted 110 km/h zone. It's dark at 11:30 pm and at that speed, any animal or object on the road won't be identified in time and a collision is almost sure to occur.