IMPAIRED DRIVING IN

• Main Author: Julie Sauvé
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Canada; Yukon; Newfoundland; Prince Edward Island
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.539.9807; http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection-R/Statcan/85-002-XIE/0119985-002-XIE.pdf

! In 1998, 70,587 persons were charged with impaired driving in Canada. The rate of impaired driving (295 per 100,000 persons 16 years of age and over) fell 4 % in 1998, the 15th consecutive annual decrease. Since the rate peaked in 1981, there has been a 65 % decline in persons charged with impaired driving.! Some of this decrease may be due to the increased use of roadside suspensions by police, rather than laying a charge against a driver with a blood-alcohol concentration just over the legal limit. This increased use of roadside suspensions by the police is primarily due to the amount of paperwork and time required in the processing of an impaired driving charge.! With the exception of small increases in Nova Scotia (+1%) and Manitoba (+1%), all provinces and territories followed the national trend of a decline in impaired driving rates in 1998. Prince Edward Island had the largest decrease, down 19%. Yukon had the highest rate (1,148) and for the 10th straight year, Saskatchewan recorded the highest rate among the provinces (683). Newfoundland reported the lowest rate (218) for the 3rd year in a row.! The most serious consequence of impaired driving is causing the death of another person. In 1998, 103 persons were charged with impaired driving causing death, the lowest number since 1989. There were also 886 persons charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm, a figure that has also been decreasing.! The 19-24 age group was found to have the highest age-specific rate of impaired drivers. Rates gradually declined from the peak age of 20 until the early 30's where there was a second smaller peak.! Compared to other Criminal Code offences, impaired driving has a relatively high proportion of convictions. Over three-quarters (77%) of impaired driving cases resulted in a conviction in 1997-98, compared to 62 % of all Criminal Code offences. However, in recent years, there has been a gradual decline in guilty verdicts in impaired driving cases.! Possibly in response to increased penalties for conviction, it ...