In the News

MADD favours random checks to see if drivers are drunk
By Dan Arsenault
February 15, 2010

BEFORE finishing her three-year mandate this September as national president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Margaret Miller of Shubenacadie hopes to win the fight for a major Canadian legal change.

Miller wants police to be able to randomly stop drivers and demand breath samples.

"It’s something that’s been done in many countries around the world," she said Sunday.

"It’s still the leading criminal cause of death in Canada . . . impaired driving. Every day in Canada, four people are killed and 207 are injured."

Miller said some parts of Australia, which changed its laws to allow police to randomly stop drivers, noticed a 36 per cent drop in deaths and injuries from impaired driving.

Some European countries made the change and noticed a 22 per cent drop, she said.

Comparing the European improvement to Canada’s statistics, Miller said it’s a fight worth taking on.

"Can you imagine? That’s almost 50 people in Canada who will not be killed or injured in Canada every day."

MADD will have to try to convince lawmakers that random stops aren’t an undue breach of citizens’ rights, she said.

She compared the random checks to airport security screenings, where innocent people are inconvenienced before boarding an aircraft.

"Is it too much to be stopped at roadside and in a minute in a half . . . you blow into a device and, if you’re clear, you go."

Such a change would reduce the number of motorists who drive after drinking, she said.

Miller recently answered five questions from The Chronicle Herald, a few of which dealt with the case of Terry Naugle, 52, a chronic drunk driver from the Truro area.

On Friday, Judge Frank Hoskins sentenced Naugle to 6¾ years in prison after he pleaded guilty to impaired driving, leaving an accident scene and driving while disqualified.

It’s the sixth federal prison term for Naugle, who has 22 impaired driving convictions and 14 for driving while disqualified.

Q: Look at the case of Terry Naugle. Is his penalty appropriate?

A: I think that with the laws that are in place right now in Nova Scotia, that it was the best the judge could do. He gave very good background reasoning for his decision . . . and it was certainly a jump up from (Naugle’s) past jail sentences, but then again, it’s really reflecting the seriousness of the crime as well.

Q: What can the justice system do to repeat-impaired drivers who don’t show any respect or concern for Canadian laws?

A: MADD Canada just came out with a paper and what (it was) suggesting should be done with repeat offenders. Anybody that has been convicted a fifth time or more should be subject to long-term-offender status. There comes a point when you know that a person is not going to be able to be rehabilitated. We have to start looking at public safety.

Q: If a drunk driver kills someone in a crash, should they be considered a murderer?

A: Absolutely. That’s one thing (where) we find a vast difference with the American (judicial) system. They are identified as a murderer. . . . It is a degree of murder in the United States, but we call it impaired driving causing death. Is it another name for the same thing? They have actually taken someone’s life. They have murdered someone. It’s not an accident; impaired driving is never an accident.

Q: Tell me about Campaign 911, which encourages motorists with cellphones to report suspected drunk drivers. How important is it and what do you think of the people that make these calls that get drunks off the road?

A: I think it’s fantastic. When we see the public that are getting involved with us and calling and reporting impaired drivers, they are deciding that they are going to take a proactive role in the battle against impaired driving. These people are, in fact, heroes. You don’t know if by calling and reporting that impaired driver, they might have saved a life or avoided a possible crash

Q: Consider all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and watercraft. When people are doing recreational activities, I think it’s easier to have a drink and maybe ignore responsibilities. How can your organization get the message out that this is still a pretty dangerous practice?

A: We’ve been doing more partnerships with the ATV associations, with the safe-boating associations. It’s a real hazard. We know that 50 per cent of the deaths on the waterways in Canada are attributed to alcohol. I would expect that with ATVs and other recreational vehicles, it’s probably going to be about the same. People need to realize that impaired driving is (dangerous) with any type of motorized vehicle. You’re just as much responsible for the people around you to be driving safe and sober.