In the News

Legislation moving in right direction: SGI
Leader-Post
By Heather Polischuk
December 9, 2009

While the province's B rating in MADD Canada's latest report card puts Saskatchewan in the middle of the road nationally, an SGI official said the province is steering in the right direction with its impaired driving legislation.

Just prior to the provincial government announcing its tougher stance against repeat drunk drivers, SGI's assistant vice-president of Traffic Safety and Driver Services, Kwei Quaye, said Saskatchewan's legislation "stacks up against any best practice that you have out there with respect to impaired driving," he said.

Last week, Mothers Against Drunk Driving released its most recent report, comparing impaired driving laws in each province and territory. Ontario ranked first and Manitoba second, each with an A-minus. Saskatchewan came in fifth, behind Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

According to the report, Saskatchewan did better than some other locations thanks to its 90-day administrative licence suspension and the 24-hour suspension for drivers with blood-alcohol content (BAC) over .04. The alcohol interlock and vehicle impoundment programs also earned the province points.

However, MADD said Saskatchewan should raise the age for a learner's licence to 16, strengthen the graduated licencing program, and introduce a zero BAC for all drivers under 21 or during a person's first five years of driving.

Quaye said SGI has consulted with MADD and while SGI is always open to suggestions for improvements, current programming already addresses the problem. The graduated licencing program is one such success story, he said.

"It's resulted in an 18-per-cent reduction in collisions involving new drivers, so we're quite happy with the program the way it is," Quaye said.

He added SGI doesn't see the need to increase the age at which a person can get a learner's licence, but he said SGI will be looking at data in relation to MADD's suggestion that newer drivers should maintain a zero BAC -- legislation that helped earn Manitoba its A-minus rating.

Quaye said SGI is focusing on building public awareness about the laws already in place so people know there are substantial risks to drinking and driving, including that they could be caught. One way of doing that has been through programs like Enforcement Overdrive, where SGI pays police to work overtime shifts looking for impaired driving and other unsafe driving behaviours.

The Regina Police Service kicked off December by announcing the month's traffic focus will be impaired driving, with several checkstops planned through Enforcement Overdrive.

The RPS is asking people to make arrangements over the holiday season to ensure they don't drink and drive, such as using public transportation or a designated driver. While some may look at getting caught as a trip to court, a fine and a lost licence, RPS spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich said there are other, more substantial reasons not to drink and drive.

"If police don't stop you and you're involved in a collision, then there's certainly going to be property damage, there may be injury and there may be death and we don't want anyone to have that associated with their holiday season," she said.