Impaired Driving

The disposal of beer cans and bottles out of vehicle windows along the twenty mile stretch of road between the main highway cut off and the Port Alice mill is not only a sad commentary about the local transient population, but it also means that an immense amount of drinking and driving has been going on. This has been occurring for many years with no attempt at correction.

I witnessed a discussion the other day about the difference between the charges of driving over .08 BAC and driving impaired. Over .08 BAC is obvious but what actions or behaviours can bring an impaired driving charge? Does it specifically refer to alcohol and drugs. Can a person be deemed impaired by illness, say dementia, or impaired by say a neck brace or cast?

One of the conditions attached to the driver's license of any new driver in British Columbia's Graduated Licensing Program (GLP) is that the driver must have zero blood alcohol when they are operating a motor vehicle. Of course, the idea behind this is that the driver has enough to worry about while driving the vehicle without adding alcohol to the mix. So, what about drug use?

I had a question regarding the Designated Driver Programs that are popping up around town.

On Grey Cup Sunday I had attended a sports bar with a plan to have 3 drinks in a 6 hour time frame and drive home. Well, at half time in the game, my plan was well out the window! At this point I was told of the Designated Driver Program that the bar offers.

I signed up for the service and enjoyed the rest of the game.

This tip about designated drivers takes a look at what people think that a designated driver is and how important it can be to find a sober ride home in the face of BC's new drinking and driving legislation.

Change the Conversation is a national education program on impaired driving in Canada. It contains information about the magnitude and characteristics of the impaired driving problem across Canada, criminal and administrative laws relating to impaired driving, effective programs and policies to reduce impaired driving and the impaired driving system to deal with drunk drivers.

I came across this video in an e-mail I received a while back and figured that you might be interested. I think it should be shown here, on internet as well as on TV. For whatever reason it seems to me that most people still don't get it.  The new laws we have are not really a solution to the problem, more a tax grab and cash cow than anything else.

Enforcement action against drivers having a blood alcohol content over 50 mg% (.05) began in 1977 here in British Columbia. In my view, it didn't become a marked deterrent until the recent significant penalty increases imposed by amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act. People are finally making the choice not to drink and drive in numbers that are easily visible.

BC's Responsible Driver Program is required for drivers who have received an Immediate Roadside Prohibition for blowing a fail, having been convicted of an alcohol related driving offence or who have multiple alcohol related driving events on their driving record. The program may also be required because the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles has evidence that the driver has an alcohol abuse or misuse problem.

The most significant concern apparent to me with regard to the new Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) program in BC is that the police are seen to be the judge and jury at roadside. This has been the case since the creation of the roadside prohibition many years ago, the only thing that has changed is the size of the penalty. Few people seem to be aware that this action is subject to review both by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles and the courts.