DriveSmartBC

The Road Safety Monitor is an annual Canadian public opinion survey conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF). These two documents contain the result of the 2011 survey on drinking and driving in Canada and the breakdown by region across the country.

I performed many duties in my policing career, investigator, collision analyst, breath testing technician and screening device operator/calibrator/instructor. I've seen first hand the damage that impaired drivers do to themselves and others on our highways. The duty I liked the least was notifying next of kin following a fatal collision.

TED Talks challenge fascinating thinkers and doers to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less. Ramona Pierson was crossing the street when a drunk driver ran a red light and struck her in the crosswalk. She spent 18 months in a coma and then was placed in a senior citizens home to recover.

The following excuses for driving while impaired were provided to police at CounterAttack road checks held around BC in the past month:

Another great video from Austalia's TAC Victoria that is part of their anti-impaired driving campaign for Christmas 2011. Well known for not pulling any punches, these videos graphically illustrate the perils of impaired driving.

A new Road Safety Monitor (RSM) poll by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) shows that a majority of young Canadian drivers are aware that they cannot drive safely after drinking alcohol. The public opinion poll conducted in September 2010 investigated a variety of drinking and driving behaviours and attitudes among youth including riding with a drinking driver.

Police will revert to the previously used sanctions when a driver provides a breath sample at roadside that results in a fail reading due to the recent Supreme Court decision in Sivia v Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.

Why doesn't this site do more to promote the use of a designated driver? This single sentence was all that was sent to me in an e-mail from a visitor to my DriveSmartBC web site. With the Christmas season upon us, it's probably a great time to revisit the subject.

This case is the first major challenge of BC's new Immediate Roadside Prohibition laws. Mr. Justice Sigurdson has ruled that the penalties imposed for the actions taken against a driver who blows a fail (over .08) reading on an approved screening device are contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because there is no adequate option for a review.

I'm no stranger to death by automobile. It was never a pleasure to investigate fatalities and for me there was no satisfaction in the successful prosecution of the impaired driver that caused them. Many more people than the direct victims were hurt and I knew that the only way I could really contribute was to hunt down the impaired driver and stop them.