May 17, 2006

Youth and Impaired Driving in Canada:  Opportunities for Progress

• This MADD Canada report provides a broad survey of legislative measures that the provincial and territorial governments can implement to better protect young Canadians.
  
  
• Young people's patterns of alcohol and drug consumption, coupled with their driving behaviours, explain why they have the highest rates of impairment-related crash deaths as drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and snowmobile and ATV operators. A detailed statistical review reveals:
  • Young people have the highest reported rates of weekly and monthly heavy drinking, binge drinking (5 or more standard drinks on a single occasion), and drug use.
  • They have high rates of driving after drinking and drug use, and being a passenger of a driver who has been drinking or taking drugs. 
  • Young people exhibit driving characteristics that greatly increase their crash risks -- beginning drivers are immature, and lack both driving experience and the skills necessary to avoid potentially hazardous situations. 
  • 16-24 year old drivers, particularly males, tend to be risk takers, in that they have relatively high rates of speeding and aggressive driving, and lower rates of seatbelt use.
    
    
• Regarding driver licensing, MADD Canada advocates a minimum driving age of 16, a comprehensive graduated licensing program (GLP), and a zero blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) restriction on all drivers until they reach the age of 21.
  
  
• MADD Canada advocates the implementation of a three-stage GLP: an initial 12-month period in which beginning drivers are supervised by an accompanying licensed adult, and are subject to road, passenger and nighttime driving restrictions; an intermediate 12-month stage in which new drivers are only required to be supervised in higher-risk circumstances; and a 24-month probationary period in which drivers are be subject to closer scrutiny by licensing authorities.  All drivers and supervisors in the GLP should be required to maintain a zero BAC.
  
  
• MADD Canada also recommends that, similar to the situation in the United States, all Canadian drivers under the age of 21 be subject to a zero BAC limit.  This provision should apply even if the driver had successfully completed the GLP. (This recommendation addresses the high rates of alcohol-related fatalities among 18-20 year old drivers and the fact that, under the current law, they are first permitted to drive unsupervised at about the same time as they reach the legal drinking age.)
  
  
• On the matter of police enforcement powers, MADD Canada recommends:
  • the police be given express statutory authority to stop vehicles at random and demand documentation from both young drivers and any supervising driver; 
  • the police be given express statutory authority to demand breath samples to ensure that drivers and supervisors in the GLP and all drivers under 21 are complying with the proposed zero BAC limits;
  • implement targeted RIDE or spot-check programs for areas that routinely generate large numbers of young impaired drivers and pedestrians; and
  • to address the fact that young people have the highest reported rates of driving under the influence of cannabis and other illicit drugs, the police be given express statutory authority to demand physical coordination testing of any driver they reasonably suspect has drugs in his or her body. 
    
    
• Levels of hazardous consumption are directly related to elevated rates of alcohol-related harms, including traffic crashes.  The early onset of drinking among youth is associated with increased alcohol-related problems and injuries later in life.  Thus, the more that teenagers can be discouraged from engaging in hazardous drinking, the more likely it is that they will develop responsible drinking habits in early adulthood.
   
• MADD Canada advocates that the provinces use their broad regulatory control over alcohol to reduce underage and binge drinking among youth.  Of particular concern is the need to dramatically increase the enforcement of the current liquor licence legislation, especially in bars, taverns, and other venues that cater to youth. 
  
  
• In framing our recommendations, MADD Canada is cognizant of the likely level of public and political support for various measures, as this is often a critical factor in determining if proposed reforms will be enacted.  It has also taken into account the requirements of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and ensured all recommendations were drafted to accord with Charter values.  Thus, the recommendations draw heavily on current best practices in Canada and other similar democracies. 

For further information, call MADD Canada spokespersons:

Karen Dunham, National President
(506) 650-7473

Robert Solomon, Legal Director (co-author of report)
(519) 661-3603

Andrew Murie, Chief Executive Officer
1-800-665-6233, ext. 224

Also see:

Provinces urged to do more about young drivers and impaired driving fatalities

Executive Summary (PDF)

Youth and Impaired Driving in Canada : Opportunities for Progress (PDF)