President's Perspective

It appears there will always be pressure to lower the criminal limit for drinking and driving from 0.08* to 0.05. Yet for most people whose blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is below 0.08, their collision involvement rate is not significantly higher than non-drinking drivers. Drivers whose BAC is 0.150 or higher are over 200 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than non-drinking drivers.

Groups who lobby for lower legal limits are ignoring the facts. Countries, such as Sweden, which have moved to very low limits have found the use of other drugs increased while fatalities remained fairly constant.

High-BAC drivers account for nearly half of all road fatalities at night and on weekends. Many of these are chronic, hard core drinking drivers, some driving while under suspension, or young drivers who have been binge drinking.

Strict penalties for impaired driving have not deterred these individuals. If the Criminal Code limit drops to 0.05 or lower, they will more likely be driving at three times the legal limit, than not driving drunk.

We cannot let emotion take over the criminal justice system. Good laws are driven by objectivity, hard facts and realism. Let's stop the rush to prohibition, and find effective ways to stop drunk drivers from taking the wheel.

* 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood

Emile-J. Therien
President, Canada Safety Council

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