Impaired Driving

Kaarina Engelbrecht was reported to police as an erratic driver on March 27, 2011. Her vehicle was located by patrols and after an altercation at roadside she was taken to the Kelowna RCMP detachment for breath testing. She provided breath samples of 110 mg% and was charged with driving without due care and attention.

Clare Bekkers spent the evening at a friend's residence in Victoria drinking and using cocaine. The following day she collected her young children and headed home to Nanaimo. When she started her journey that day at 12:30 pm her blood alcohol level was between 93 and 148 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. There was some indication that she may have consumed beer in her vehicle on the way home.

A few months back you commented on drugs and driving and the issues therein. I think you people do a heck of a great job and drug testing I am certain is a growing problem for police officers.

I performed many duties in my policing career, investigator, collision analyst, breath testing technician and screening device operator/calibrator/instructor. I've seen first hand the damage that impaired drivers do to themselves and others on our highways. The duty I liked the least was notifying next of kin following a fatal collision.

TED Talks challenge fascinating thinkers and doers to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. Ramona Pierson was crossing the street when a drunk driver ran a red light and struck her in the crosswalk. She spent 18 months in a coma and then was placed in a senior citizens home to recover.

The following excuses for driving while impaired were provided to police at CounterAttack road checks held around BC in the past month:

My husband received a ticket in September for cutting corners on the lake road, crossing the double solid. He lost his licence for 3 days and his truck was impounded for 30 days.

A new Road Safety Monitor (RSM) poll by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) shows that a majority of young Canadian drivers are aware that they cannot drive safely after drinking alcohol. The public opinion poll conducted in September 2010 investigated a variety of drinking and driving behaviours and attitudes among youth including riding with a drinking driver.

I have a question regarding the length of time it takes for alcohol to leave the system to a point where you are legal to drive.

I'm no stranger to death by automobile. It was never a pleasure to investigate fatalities and for me there was no satisfaction in the successful prosecution of the impaired driver that caused them. Many more people than the direct victims were hurt and I knew that the only way I could really contribute was to hunt down the impaired driver and stop them.