• B.C. has led the way nationally on tackling drinking and driving, and the results speak for themselves - an estimated 238 lives saved and a 52% reduction in alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities since B.C.'s Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) Program began in 2010.
• In 2015, the Province introduced amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act that will enhance and safeguard the life-saving benefits of B.C.'s road safety programs, including our IRP program. These amendments will do three things: improve fairness and transparency, respond to direction from the court, and ensure the continued toughness of our drinking and driving laws.
• Between January 2011 and April 2014, an estimated 21,422 Criminal Code cases were diverted from the court system to an administrative process as a result of the IRP program.
• In September 2014, B.C. and its road safety partners unveiled Alexa's Bus, also known as a Mobile Road Safety Unit. Alexa's Bus is an education and enforcement tool, specifically tackling impaired driving caused by both alcohol and drugs, which is being used by police throughout the province.
• A UBC study, published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2014, found that B.C.'s drinking and driving legislation has significantly reduced fatal crashes, ambulance calls, and hospital admissions resulting from motor vehicle crashes.
• UVIC's Centre for Addictions Research of BC (CARBC) has given B.C. the top ranking among Canadian provinces when it comes to drinking and driving policies.
• A CARBC study also shows that, beyond the lives this law has helped save, it has also resulted in significant declines in injuries (23%) and property damage (19.5%).
• In October 2014, government announced new penalty points for distracted driving in B.C. Penalty points increased from zero to three for experienced drivers caught talking on a handheld device while driving.
• The Province brought together more than 30 key road safety partners to collaborate on the first made-in-B.C., road safety strategy, released in 2013. The vision is to have the safest roads in North America by 2020, with the ultimate goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries. www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/osmv/shareddocs/RoadSafetyStrategy.pdf

Learn More:

IRP penalties: www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/osmv/shareddocs/immediate-roadside-prohibition-penalties.pdf

Distracted Driving factsheet: http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/osmv/shareddocs/electronic-devices-while-driving.pdf

UBC study - Reduction in Fatalities, Ambulance Calls, and Hospital Admissions for Road Trauma After Implementation of New Traffic Laws: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302068

CARBC news release on the effectiveness of B.C.'s drinking and driving law: http://www.carbc.ca/Portals/0/PropertyAgent/714/Files/332/130612MediaRelea

View the CARBC report on alcohol-related harms and costs: http://www.carbc.ca/Portals/0/PropertyAgent/558/Files/335/Bulletin%202013-08.pdf

Contact:

Ministry of Justice
Government Communications and Public Engagement
250 213-3602