Last call B次元官网网址� and your last beer of the night B次元官网网址� has come and gone. Was that your third or fourth drink?
You walk to your car and try to gauge your vertigo with each step. YouB次元官网网址檙e off-kilter, but not too much. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 alright to drive,B次元官网网址� you tell yourself.
As you crest the hill on Douglas Street youB次元官网网址檙e met with the flashing red and blue lights of a police checkpoint. This is when you start to panic, only now regretting your decision to drink and drive.
B次元官网网址淕ood evening. Have you consumed any alcohol in the previous six hours?B次元官网网址� the officer says.
It doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter what you say. The officer smells the alcohol on your breath the moment you answer. YouB次元官网网址檙e instructed to pull over and get out of your car.
Your heart races as you watch the officer affix a fresh mouthpiece to the handheld Alco-Sensor device; you know full well you shouldnB次元官网网址檛 have tried driving home.
You take a deep breath in and let a long, steady stream of air out of your mouth and into the intoximeter. B次元官网网址淔ailB次元官网网址� appears on the deviceB次元官网网址檚 digital screen. Tonight, your breath alcohol concentration is found to be at least 0.1 per cent. (The Criminal Code blood alcohol content B次元官网网址� BAC B次元官网网址� is .08 per cent.)
The officer offers, and you accept, to issue a second breath test on a different device. Once again, you fail. Based on the B次元官网网址渇ailB次元官网网址� reading, he issues you a 90-day immediate roadside prohibition (IRP).
Starting now, your driverB次元官网网址檚 licence is revoked for 90 days, and your car is impounded for 30. YouB次元官网网址檙e also now mandated to participate in the responsible driver education program and have an ignition interlock device installed (and monitored) for 12 months on any vehicle you drive.
The IRP program was implemented in B.C. in September 2010 by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles to tighten the provinceB次元官网网址檚 drunk driving laws.
The IRP program gives law enforcement officials an administrative option to deal with drunk drivers, rather than charging someone with impaired driving under the Criminal Code.
B次元官网网址淭his was all about saving lives and preventing injuries. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what the programB次元官网网址檚 focus was and what it continues to be,B次元官网网址� said Steve Martin, B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Superintendent of Motor Vehicles. B次元官网网址淲e wanted (a program) that would provide enough disincentive to drivers to have an impact on their behaviour.B次元官网网址�
These disincentives, he says, come in the form of immediate, remedial and financial penalties. From towing away your car to having an interlock device, each penalty comes at a steep cost.
Add on the administrative sanctions and the fees to get your licence back, and even a first-time offender will be out-of-pocket at least $4,040. Drivers with multiple infractions on their licence would also face increased insurance premiums from ICBC.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a high percentage of B.C. drivers that are aware of these sanctions, and I think the behavioural change that weB次元官网网址檙e seeing further backs that up,B次元官网网址� Martin said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e seeing sustained fatality reductions in the 45-per-cent-plus range. And thatB次元官网网址檚 just unprecedented. ThatB次元官网网址檚 not been achieved in the period of time anywhere in the world that I know of.B次元官网网址�
While a minimum $4,040 in disincentives may seem harsh, Saanich police Sgt. Steve Eassie puts that number in perspective.
B次元官网网址淐onsider if they had received a Criminal Code impaired driving charge and are found guilty. That comes with a fine, a minimum one-year driving prohibition, thereB次元官网网址檚 lawyer fees and now they have a criminal record for life,B次元官网网址� he said.
Additionally, convicted impaired drivers can be ordered to participate in and pay for one or both the responsible driver program and ignition interlock program, and could also face jail time.
B次元官网网址淭he administrative IRP program seems pretty punitive, but itB次元官网网址檚 not when you compare it to the repercussions it could have on the individual if they went through the court system,B次元官网网址� Eassie said.
IRP system saves time, saves money
One of the most noticeable benefits of the IRP program for police is that it saves time.
B次元官网网址淏efore IRP, cops just didnB次元官网网址檛 have the time to properly process impaired drivers B次元官网网址� one impaired driver would take an officer off the street for four hours on a busy shift,B次元官网网址� Martin said.
B次元官网网址淪o with the IRP tool, police can process drivers efficiently at the roadside and not have to go back to the police station for hours on end. Therefore theyB次元官网网址檙e actually able to be out on the street and touch more impaired drivers.B次元官网网址�
Statistics show law enforcement officials in B.C. are taking full advantage of the streamlined program.
Between September 2010 and November 2012, officers handed out 40,034 IRPs in B.C. More than half of those (22,164) were as a result of B次元官网网址渇ailB次元官网网址� readings. (There are also shorter, less punitive IRPs issued for having a breath alcohol concentration between .06 and .099 per cent, known as the B次元官网网址渨arnB次元官网网址� range.)
The number of impaired driving cases to go through B.C.B次元官网网址檚 court system dropped from 7,225 in 2010 to 6,691 in 2011. Between January and November 2012, just 3,898 impaired driving cases went to court.
B次元官网网址淭he immediate roadside prohibition program has seen a reduction in the number of drinking and driving cases going to court,B次元官网网址� said a spokesperson from the Ministry of Justice, on behalf of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Criminal Justice Branch.
B次元官网网址淲hile it will take time for the programB次元官网网址檚 full effects to be known, considering the number of concluded impaired driving court cases over the last three years does give some indication that the overall number of cases is dropping.B次元官网网址�
The cost of the interlock program starts at $1,730 for the year, while the responsible driver program B次元官网网址� which consists of either one eight-hour educational session or 16 hours of group counselling B次元官网网址� costs $880.
Martin says the IRP program is essentially cost-neutral for the province. For each B次元官网网址渇ailB次元官网网址� reading, the province receives $750 in administrative penalties and licensing fees, and $150 to monitor the interlock program B次元官网网址� all of which is used to cover the cost of keeping the program staffed and operational.
Under the IRP program, roadside screening devices are set to err on the side of the driver, not the police. (The deviceB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渨arnB次元官网网址� range activates at .06 per cent, as opposed to the legislationB次元官网网址檚 imposed .05 per cent. The B次元官网网址渇ailB次元官网网址� range activates at 0.1 per cent, as opposed to .08 per cent.)
B次元官网网址淪ay they blow .08 on a breath screening device, their blood alcohol is 10 to 20 per cent higher than that,B次元官网网址� Martin said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e giving drivers a real significant cushion because the breath alcohol gives a lower reading than the actual blood alcohol would be.B次元官网网址�
As you stand in the chilly January air B次元官网网址� now car-less and unlicensed B次元官网网址� your mind wanders to a moment some 30 minutes ago B次元官网网址� even before you made the poor decision the get behind the wheel. You think back to settling up with the bartender. Few people would imagine a $40 tab for the night would turn into a $4,000 bill.
B次元官网网址淥ne does not have the right to drive, nor drink. If planning on doing one, leave out the other,B次元官网网址� said Saanich police Const. Matt Cawsey, who spent five years on SaanichB次元官网网址檚 traffic safety unit. B次元官网网址淲e realize alternative transport can be inconvenient or limited in certain areas, but (drinking and driving) is just not worth it.B次元官网网址�
kslavin@saanichnews.com
Cost of drinking and driving
Fail - blood alcohol content (BAC) above 0.1 per cent, or for refusing to provide a breath sample)
- $4,040 and 90-day IRP
Warn - BAC between .06 and .099 per cent
- 1st incident: $600; three-day IRP
- 2nd incident (within five years): $780; seven-day IRP
- 3rd incident (within five years): $3,940; 30-day IRP
