POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 69 Low-BAC Drivers and the Law How should the law treat drinking drivers whose blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is below the Criminal Code limit of 0.08? Although impairment begins with the first drink, the majority of drivers involved in alcohol-related fatal crashes have BACs over 0.15. These high-BAC drivers represent about one per cent of the cars on the road at night and on weekends, but nearly half of all drivers killed at those times. Most fall into one of two major categories: the young (ages 19 to 24) and the hardcore. In Canadaʼs system, the federal government shares responsibility for impaired driving with the provinces and territories. The federal Criminal Code, for example, addresses driving or care and control of a vehicle with BACs exceeding 0.08. The Canada Safety Council recommends dealing with lower-BAC drivers under provincial and territorial highway traffic acts. Prevention the goal The priority must be to prevent alcohol-related traffic crashes, not merely to punish drinking drivers. Penalties for drinking and driving are very tough across Canada. The problem is that many drinking drivers do not think about consequences before taking the wheel. Penalties, regardless of severity, have little preventive impact unless they are seen to be enforced. That is why roadside checks and visible enforcement are very effective deterrents. The gauge of progress should be the rate of deaths and injuries due to road crashes involving a drinking driver. Criteria such as the number of licence suspensions, severity of penalties and implementation of specific types of legislation, while relevant, are not valid measures of prevention. Highway traffic acts Most jurisdictions impose administrative licence suspensions on drivers with BACs below the Criminal Code limit or if the officer believes the driver is affected by alcohol; durations vary. Some also have remedial and/or assessment programs for low-BAC drivers with repeat suspensions. Administrative licence suspensions provide a measured response to the risk posed by low-BAC drivers. They protect the public by taking potentially dangerous drivers off the road, and give those drivers a strong warning. These suspensions are an effective tool in the fight against impaired driving, in part because they impose swift and certain consequences. Some provinces have licence reinstatement fees, and requirements for assessment and treatment in the case of repeat suspensions. Specific sanctions for drinking drivers with lower BACs vary from one part of the country to another. From a national perspective, this inconsistency makes it difficult to inform Canadians about those which apply in the jurisdiction where they live. Indeed, a 2003 survey found that less than half of respondents knew there is a lower alcohol limit in their province at which police can suspend driving privileges; only six per cent could identify that limit. Canada Safety Council C A N A D A ’ S V O I C E A N D R E S O U R C E F O R S A F E T Y continued...
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