MADD Canada CEO on board with New Brunswick’s change to drinking and driving penalties

The country's biggest advocate against drinking and driving is applauding New Brunswick's new penalties for motorists caught driving while impaired.

MADD Canada CEO Steve Sullivan was on hand when the province first announced the changes in May. He believes the change will lead to safer streets for everyone.

“We were quite pleased when the New Brunswick government chose to make the changes to enhance the penalties and the consequences for people who drive impaired,” Sullivan says.

“This is something we've actually tried to have discussions with other jurisdictions about and New Brunswick is, I think, the fourth province to do this. Since then, the Yukon Territory has adopted a similar program. We think this will be really effective in trying to combat impaired driving.”

Sullivan says the changes will “instill immediate, meaningful consequences for people who drive impaired,” as opposed to waiting months for a court date to see if a conviction will even happen to an offender.

A similar system is currently in place in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba, which Sullivan says has showed success in reducing impaired driving injuries and deaths. In B.C., where the program has been in place the longest, Sullivan says impaired-driving collisions have been reduced by around 40 per cent.

“In the old system you get pulled over, you get charged, you might lose your car for a couple of days, and then you have to wait six months depending on where you are to a year for your criminal case to be dealt with and you might not even be convicted,” Sullivan says.

“This system offers consistency. Everybody who's caught to be impaired driving is going to face the same consequences, and there are meaningful consequences.”

He says impounding a driver's car for an extended period of time, installing an ignition interlock, and forcing offenders to take remedial courses have been proven to change people's behaviour.

He says this will also free up police time to respond to other incidents, rather than having to wait around a courtroom all day, only to learn a case has been delayed, wasting police resources. It will also free up the courts to deal with other matters.

MADD Canada’s Project Red Ribbon is currently ongoing to promote sober driving during the holidays. Sullivan says the holiday season can be especially difficult for those who have lost a loved one as a result of impaired driving.

He hopes people get together and enjoy fun times during the holidays, but reminds residents to always have a plan for a safe ride home. He also points out, while you may not feel any effects from drinking the night before, you can still fail a roadside test the next morning and be subject to the new penalties.

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