NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release 2004PSSG0024-000818 Oct. 18, 2004	Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
NEW LAW TARGETS IMPAIRED DRIVERS

VICTORIA – Enhanced enforcement, increased penalties and rehabilitation for impaired drivers are key tools behind a new law to make B.C. streets safer, Solicitor General Rich Coleman announced today. 

 

“Alcohol-related traffic crashes claim more lives every year than homicides, fires and drowning combined. In 2003, a drinking driver was involved in one in four fatal crashes,” said Coleman. “This government is serious about the safety of the public and this legislation sends a strong message that we will not tolerate drinking and driving in British Columbia.”   

 

            For the first time in British Columbia, drivers with a Criminal Code drinking driving conviction, and other repeat offenders, will have to complete a rehabilitation program before they can drive again. Chronic offenders who are convicted of three or more alcohol-related Criminal Code offences may have to install an ignition interlock device on their vehicles that requires a breath sample before the vehicle will start. Outstanding liquor fines for offences such as under-age possession of liquor or consuming liquor in a public place must now be paid before a driver’s license can be renewed or obtained.

 

The Motor Vehicle Amendment Act gives police additional tools to take drinking drivers off the road, including:

• Drivers who receive a 24-hour roadside suspension can also have their vehicles immediately impounded by police for 24 hours.
• Increased fines for driving while prohibited and extended vehicle impoundments for up to 60 days for a first offence and 90 days for subsequent offences.
• Drivers charged with serious motor vehicle-related offences, such as street racing, and who are under a court-ordered driving ban, will be refused a driver’s license.

 

      The new legislation is the result of extensive consultation with police, traffic safety organizations, and the public over the past year.

 

            “This government promised to build safer communities and we’re continuing to do that,” said Coleman. “Last year, 101 people died because of drinking drivers. Our goal is to put an end to this kind of needless tragedy.”

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1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:	Cindy Rose Public Affairs Bureau Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General 250 356-6961
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