After statistics showed that alcohol-related deaths were down 50 per cent between October 2010 and April 2011, the restaurant and bar industry is not hopeful for a review of the province’s drinking and driving laws.
During the same period over the past five years there has been an average of 61 deaths due to alcohol-related crashes, based on police accident reports. The ten-year average was 58 deaths.
The goal was to reduce the number of deaths by a third in three years, but these numbers have surpassed that, and while there was some discussion a short time ago of possibly softening the tougher campaign, it appears that will no longer hold.
According to data from the RCMP between September 20, 2010, and April 30, 2011, police issued 12,332 immediate roadside prohibitions to drivers province-wide, with 8,132 people facing a 90-day ban, meaning they allegedly blew above .08. The next highest number was 4,161 people who faced a three-day suspension.
In the same time frame here have been 10,678 vehicle impoundments for alcohol-related prohibitions in B.C., and between October 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010, there were 20,323 alcohol-related 24 hour prohibitions and 7,406 administrative driving prohibitions served.
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