Impaired Driving

Before the advent of the roadside screening device the use of mouthwash to hide the odour of liquor on a driver's breath was not unheard of. Today using a mouthwash containing alcohol as you approach a road check can be a very dangerous thing to do. The alcohol present in your mouth from the mouthwash could produce a warn or fail reading on the device when your true blood alcohol level is less.

Yesterday, over a 6 hr. span, my husband had consumed 4 cans of beer, and 2  5oz glasses of 11.5% white wine, with lots of ice.  My husband is 165 lbs. He had an 8 hr. sleep. He woke up in the morning, did his usual coffee, shower, shave, etc. ( 1hr.

Spencer Basi was stopped while driving a motor vehicle under the influence of marihuana. A Standardized Field Sobriety Test was conducted after an initial questioning by the arresting officer. Mr. Basi showed symptoms consistent with marihuna impairment, was prohibited from driving for 24 hours and had his vehicle impounded for a similar time period.

A study by researchers at the University of Florida reports that "You may have only had one glass of wine with dinner, but if you’re 55 or older, that single serving may hit you hard enough to make you a dangerous driver." Groups of young drivers and older drivers were tested on a driving simulator sober and with blood alcohol levels of .04 and .065.

Australia's Transport Accident Commission in Victoria state has published The Cell, an anti-drugged driving video that is part of a TV advertising campaign there. In their typically hard hitting style the video shows a young male driver taking drugs at a party and the consequences of that choice on the drive home afterward.

B.C.'s tough provincial laws to combat impaired driving have survived a challenge in the B.C. Court of Appeal. In summary, the judgment says:

Drivers who are part of B.C.'s Graduated Licencing Program (GLP) are limited to the number of passengers that they are allowed to carry by a restriction on their driver's licence. This restriction is designed to minimize the driver distraction that might be caused by a carload of rambunctious friends. The only exception to this restriction is when the passengers are family members.

You may have seen last week's minor media tempest regarding a grandfather who had consumed a few drinks and then hopped into the passenger seat to supervise his grandson, the learner driver. They encountered a police road check and grandpa found himself on the receiving end of an Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) for blowing a fail. Who would have thought that the supervisor of a new driver needed to be sober?

The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) reports 16 to 19 year old fatally injured drivers, especially males, continue to be over represented when compared with older drivers according to a new analysis of Canadian research published over the last decade.

This short video from New Zealand examines 3 Maori boys waiting in a car for their father to return. They parody the father driving while under the influence of marihuana during the wait. It is humourous on the face of it, but if you really think about it they are really keenly aware of the dangers of drug impaired driving. I have received many e-mails telling me that marijuana does not impair driving, but my experience tends more toward what I see in the video.