A recent study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found Canada has the highest percentage of driving deaths linked to alcohol among 19 “high income” countries.
The study found that although fewer people are dying in motor vehicle crashes in Canada, the proportion of vehicle-related deaths linked to alcohol impairment was 34 per cent, more than any other country surveyed.
READ MORE: Are B.C.’s drunk driving laws too weak?
Bob Rorison of Mother Against Drunk Driving (MADD) said he was “disappointed” by the findings.
“So what do we need to do?” he asked. “We need to make the laws stronger. We need to make people aware that when they get arrested the consequences will be severe.”
MADD is calling for random roadside breath tests, which they say led to a 20 per cent drop in impaired driving fatalities in Australia.
READ MORE: Drugs, alcohol often tied to fatal crashes among teen drivers in B.C.
But Public Safety Minister Mike Morris says random testing isn’t necessary in B.C., where significantly fewer people die due to impairment than in the rest of the country.
He credits B.C.’s immediate roadside suspension program, which gives officers the power to take away driving privileges and impound cars.
Despite B.C. having one of the lowest rates in the country, that isn’t good enough for B.C. chapter of MADD, which says it believes even one death from drinking and driving is too many.
– With files from Linda Aylesworth
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