Confronting Impaired Driving Together

As a personal injury lawyer, I get great satisfaction from seeking justice and compensation for victims of preventable tragedies, such as impaired driving.  Talking to parents, children, wives and husbands who have lost loved ones because of drinking and driving never gets any easier.

Here are some of the most recent statistics:

• An estimated 1,082 impairment-related fatalities occurred on Canadian roads in 2010, according to MADD Canada;
• Over one-third of all traffic fatalities were impairment-related in 2010; 
• In 2011, the rate of impaired driving increased for the fourth time in five years, up 2%, according to Statistics Canada;
• Police reported 90,277 impaired driving incidents in Canada in 2011;
• 82% of persons charged with drinking and driving are male;
• Impaired driving rates reported by police are substantially higher in rural than in urban areas, with a rate of 436 per 100,000 population in rural areas, as compared to 181 per 100,000 in urban areas (2011);
• Persons between 16 and 25 years of age comprised 13.6% of the population in 2010, but composed almost 33.4% of all alcohol-related traffic deaths that year;
• Drivers under 35 accounted for two-thirds of those accused of impaired driving causing death and injury in 2011;
• In 2008, more people were killed in impairment-related auto crashes than by homicide, at 635 to 611;
• Two-thirds of all reported impaired driving incidents occurred on weekends in 2011;and 
• 50% of impaired driving incidents reported by police took place between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m.   

The good news is, in 2011 the impaired driving rate was less than half of what it was in 1986.  The overall trends in impairment related injuries and fatalities are down substantially in the same 25-year period.  Still, with over 90,000 incidents of impaired driving in 2011 alone, there is obviously much work to be done.

High-risk, repeat offenders make up roughly 30% of impaired drivers.  They are typified by high-Blood Alcohol Contents, histories of prior convictions, drinking problems and frequent impaired driving. Strategies for dealing with high risk offenders include a combination of punishment, surveillance, and treatment.  Behaviour change can be encouraged through the reinforcement of positive behavior.

I cannot help but think about the many people I have encountered working in personal injury law who have lost friends and family because of impaired driving. 

The debate about proper strategies for confronting impaired driving is likely to continue for some time.  A good place to start is to remember the victims, including those who are left behind.  My hope is that if we all remember, and talk about it, there won’t be as many new ones this year.

By Geoffrey Duckworth