POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 93 driver. These drivers have shown they are unwilling to respect provincial licensing laws, and pose a very serious risk to public safety. The impoundment period should be 45 days for a first occurrence and 90 days for a second occurrence within three years. In addition to the longer-term impoundment program for those caught driving without a valid licence, MADD Canada recommends a short-term (7-day) impoundment where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the driver has committed an impaired driving offence. These short-term administrative impoundments are intended to supplement the roadside and administrative licence suspension provisions and serve to immediately remove impaired drivers and their vehicles from the road, and reduce the risk that these individuals will drive during the administrative suspension period. Vehicle Forfeiture MADD Canada recommends provinces/territories implement a vehicle forfeiture program for driver who are responsible for three or more vehicle impoundments within a ten year period. These individuals show a repeated willingness to endanger the public and violate vehicle licensing laws Additionally, they often have limited or no third-party liability insurance, which puts the public at risk of serious financial loss in the event of a crash. Vehicle forfeiture programs have not been widely implemented in Canada and research into their effectiveness is limited. Nevertheless, existing research suggests that vehicle forfeiture programs are associated with reductions in alcohol-related crashes, fatalities and arrests. Drugs and Driving Drug-impaired driving is an increasingly serious problem in Canada. The presence of drugs other than alcohol in fatally-injured drivers increased by 24% from 2000 to 2008 (the most common drugs are cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, and depressants.) Drug impaired driving is also a serious concern among young people, with several regional and national surveys indicating more young Canadians report driving after using cannabis than after consuming alcohol. Drug impaired drivers are currently detected through special enforcement techniques used by police, including the standardized field sobriety test (SFTS) and drug recognition evaluation (DRE). MADD Canada recommends that provinces and territories establish administrative programs for drugimpaired drivers which would mirror existing programs for alcohol-impaired drivers: • A prohibition on the presence of illicit psychoactive drugs for all drivers under 21 or with less than five years driving experience. This approach would mirror the .00% BAC requirement on all young and new drivers. The proposed legislation should include express police enforcement powers and mandatory licence suspensions for violating the condition. • Similar to the administrative licence suspension program for drivers with BACs of .05% and higher, a parallel program should be in place for: drivers whose ability to drive, based on an SFST or DRE, is reasonably believed to be impaired by drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol; and for drivers who refuse to submit to an SFSST, DRE or other lawfully demanded test. madd.ca ■
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