Drunk Driving Not the Leading Criminal Cause of Death

Impaired driving is being described as the leading criminal cause of death in Canada. This statement is based on the assumption that more people are killed by drunk drivers than by murderers. Thanks to hard work in recent years, the Canada Safety Council says the statement is no longer valid.

“The number of people killed in alcohol-related road crashes is higher than the number of homicides,” says Canada Safety Council president Emile Therien. “But half of them are drivers who were legally impaired. While they may be responsible for their own death, dead people cannot be charged criminally, and these fatalities cannot be compared to homicide victims.”

According to Transport Canada, road crashes involving a driver who had been drinking took 902 lives in 2003, the most recent year for which data are available. Drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.08 represented 450 of those fatalities. In any comparison with homicides, Therien argues the impaired drivers would have to be excluded. Without them, 452 people were killed in road crashes involving a drinking driver — still a high number, but over 20 per cent lower than the 549 homicides in Canada in 2003.

Today, most Canadians consider drinking and driving to be totally unacceptable and irresponsible. New drivers must have a zero BAC, and all provinces except one have administrative suspensions at around 0.05. Designated drivers are the rule. If a drunk driver causes death or injury, public outrage ensues.

Drinkers who drive not only risk their own lives and the lives of others. They also risk becoming social outcasts. Moreover, if convicted of an impaired driving offence they face severe penalties including a lifelong criminal record.

The statistics show that impaired driving is no longer the leading criminal cause of death in this country, but it remains a leading cause. Much progress has been made, most importantly a monumental attitude shift which has helped reduce the number of deaths and injuries.

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Impaired Driving