Canada Needs a Better Approach to Stopping Drug-Impaired Drivers, Says MADD Canada
(firmenpresse) - OAKVILLE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/07/12 -- Canada's current approach to identifying, investigating and prosecuting drug-impaired drivers is not working and MADD Canada is calling on the federal government to make changes.
In its report "An Overview of Federal Drug-Impaired Driving Enforcement and Provincial Licence Suspensions in Canada" (R. Solomon and E. Chamberlain, Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario), MADD Canada reveals that the number of drug-impaired driving charges laid in 2010 is just 1.4% of the total number of impaired driving charges. Of the 65,183 Criminal Code impaired driving charges, only 915 were for drug impairment. The report, along with a second report called "Drug-Impaired Driving in Canada: Review and Recommendations" (R. Solomon and E. Chamberlain, Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario), are available on MADD Canada's web site at: .
"The research and surveys tell us that drug-impaired driving is becoming an increasingly significant problem in Canada. In fact, drug-impaired driving may already be more prevalent than alcohol-impaired driving among young drivers," said MADD Canada Chief Executive Officer Andrew Murie. "Yet the statistics show that very few drug-impaired driving charges are being laid."
"That tells us that our current drug-impaired driving legislation is not working," Mr. Murie said. "Unfortunately, the perception, especially among young people, that they can drive after drug use with little chance of getting caught is all too accurate. Survey and charge data suggest that the average user would have to make 550 trips after using marijuana before he or she would be charged once."
In 2008, the Criminal Code was amended to give police the authority to demand Standard Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) and Drug Recognition Evaluations (DRE). Despite those powers and training approximately 800 officers as certified DRE experts (at a cost of $17,000 per officer), the rate of drug-impaired driving charges is extremely low.
An additional concern is the lack of data on drug-impaired driving convictions. Statistics Canada provides no data on the number of drug impaired driving charges dropped prior to trial, the conviction rate of cases that do go to trial, or the sentences imposed when offenders are found guilty.
"The 2008 amendments were a step in the right direction and there was hope that they would begin to address the drug impaired driving problem," Mr. Murie said. "However, we are now seeing that the amendments are not working and we must adopt a more effective approach."
MADD Canada is calling on Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and the federal government to move beyond the current model and develop road-side saliva testing for drugs and per se drug limits for the most commonly-used illicit drugs. Such limits would be similar to the BAC (blood-alcohol concentration) limit for alcohol. This approach has been adopted in several Australian states and a number of Western European countries where it has proven to be effective. Indeed, several leading American traffic safety experts recently called for replacing the current SFST and DRE system with per se drug limits.
"We recognize that identifying and measuring drug impairment is more complicated than measuring alcohol," Mr. Murie said. "But other jurisdictions have adopted drug per se limits and corresponding enforcement tools, such as random roadside testing. Canada needs to go that route. We need a system that enables better identification, investigation and prosecution of drug-impaired drivers, so we can get those drivers off the roads and deter others from taking that risk."
About MADD Canada
MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is a national, charitable organization that is committed to stopping impaired driving and supporting the victims of this violent crime. With volunteer-driven groups in more than 100 communities across Canada, MADD Canada aims to offer support services to victims, heighten awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and save lives and prevent injuries on our roads. For more information, visit .
Contacts:
MADD Canada
Andrew Murie
Chief Executive Officer
1-800-665-6233, ext. 224
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Datum: 07.11.2012 - 10:00 Uhr
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