B.C. to toughen impaired driving penalties

The B.C. government is revamping its drinking and driving laws to make them the strictest in Canada, Solicitor General Mike de Jong announced on Tuesday morning.

Under the new rules, drivers caught with a blood alcohol level over .08 or those who refuse to provide a breath sample at the roadside will face an immediate 90-day driving ban and a $500 fine.

As well, they will have their vehicles impounded for 30 days and may also face criminal charges, said de Jong in a statement.

Drivers caught once with a blood alcohol level in the warning range — between 0.05 and 0.08 — will face an immediate, three-day driving ban and a $200 fine. Those caught twice in a five-year period face a seven-day ban and a $300 fine; and those caught three times over five years face a 30-day ban and a $400 fine.

Drivers who blow once in the "fail" range or three times in five years in the "warn" range will be required to participate in the Responsible Driver Program. They must also use an ignition interlock device, which tests a driver's breath for alcohol every time they operate their vehicle, for one year.

Incidents on the rise

De Jong also announced a provincial goal to reduce alcohol-impaired driving fatalities by 35 per cent by the end of 2013. The move is designed to counter a recent rise in the number of impaired driving incidents, said de Jong.

"Despite increased enforcement and significant efforts to promote awareness, we've begun to see a rise in impaired driving across British Columbia," said de Jong.

"That trend is unacceptable, and that's why we're bringing in these new laws: to get impaired drivers off the road with clear, swift and severe penalties."

Changes welcome

"B.C.'s measures target impaired drivers more effectively than any Canadian jurisdiction has to date," said Andrew Murie, the CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada.

"We encourage other provinces to study what B.C. is doing and follow its example."

The new 90-day roadside ban means officers will no longer need to take drivers to the station for a full breath analysis in order to impose a driving ban longer than 24 hours, a move welcomed by Insp. Mike Diack of the B.C. RCMP's traffic services unit.

"We believe that this new initiative will help all law enforcement officers to apprehend and reduce the number of impaired drivers in our province," said Diack.

The changes to B.C.'s impaired driving laws are expected to come into effect in fall 2010.