The consequences of driving while impaired became greater effective Jan. 1 this year.
Two of the biggest changes have seen tougher penalties, and lower general tolerance for driving with smaller levels of blood alcohol content (BAC).
There is now zero tolerance for young drivers.
The old law had zero tolerance for drivers under the age of 19 and all new drivers (60-day licence suspension on first offence).
Now the same penalties apply for drivers under 21.
Veteran drivers also saw changes on Jan. 1.
The old laws had no vehicle seizure for experienced drivers with .04 - .08 BAC on a first offence.
Now there is a three-day vehicle seizure for experienced drivers with .04 - .08 BAC on a first offence.
The amount of time a person can face ignition interlock restraints on their vehicles have also been lengthened under certain circumstances.
In some cases people may find the new laws annoying, in particular three-day vehicle impoundments, but clearly changes were warranted.
We all know that getting behind the wheel when impaired and heading down the road is essentially akin to shooting a gun down the same road. You may not hit anyone, but the possibility to cause serious harm or death is certainly there.
And clearly people are not learning.
There were 45 more impaired charges laid in Saskatchewan in December than in the same month the year before.
In total, there were 353 offences related to impaired driving compared to 308 in December 2015, according to the latest statistics released by SGI.
“It’s certainly disappointing,” said Earl Cameron, executive vice president of SGI’s Auto Fund, in a release. “After extensive coverage in the media about safe ride options, increased enforcement and the tougher impaired driving laws that would be coming into effect on Jan. 1, 2017, people are still choosing to drive when they shouldn’t. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to report zero impaired driving charges next month? And it’s possible – by making smart choices, and planning ahead.”
It is a sad statement that people are still not changing their ways when it comes to drinking and driving. It seems like such an obvious way to make our roads safer, but yet hundreds do not each month. Imagine if 353 offences where caught by police in December, and then wonder how many were driving impaired and were not pulled over.
We need to change that, and tougher laws are just one way to eventually see that occur.
