My Wet Coast Life

It's been awhile since my last post due to being busy with work and other things. But now i feel the need to share my 2 bits on another issue that irks me and finally measures are being introduced to reduce/eliminate drunks on the road and severely penalize the ones that still drive drunk.

British Columbia has finally stepped up to take on the drunk drivers and impose stiffer penalties. This week they announced tough new measures to reduce the number of impaired drivers on the road and implement stiffer penalties for those that think they are OK to drive after having a few brews, when they are in fact not OK, and get caught.

I have had friends, and most likely you do to, that still stupidly get behind the wheel after a few when they should have made a smarter choice for getting home and luckily they are still around. Unfortunately, sooner or later, their luck will run out or maybe already has. Sometimes my friends or I were able to stop them by taking away their keys. But every so often, some felt obliged to refuse or even go to the extent of offering "we''ll fight for it". Some battles are just not worth it. You can't win against someone aiming for top spot on the Darwin awards. I just hope they don't take out others in that process. We can only hope.

Everyone that drives and has a wobbly pop or two, or three, has multiple alternate options and choices to make. They can get designated driver, take a cab, call a sober friend, stay overnight, take transit and one of the best services of all, Operation Red Nose, a volunteer safe ride home service. That's 6 alternate options compared to getting behind the wheel but alas, ignorance fueled by alcohol is bliss.

Follow up:

Even for me, I have been ignorant to this in the past but have since changed. When i was in Africa over a decade ago, i was in the middle of no where and was stupid enough to get behind the wheel to drive home after a lot of liquid courage consumption. Now my logic at the time, however stupid it was, was the fact i was the only one that could still walk. Our designated driver got so tanked, he passed out in the bed of the truck before we even left the bar, there were no cabs to call or public transit and no where to stay the night (it was a bar, in the middle of nowhere) and we needed to get back to our camp for work and couldn't wait till the next morning to sober up. So my only option was to drive and logic said we are in the middle of no where so no other cars and chance of running into someone is very slim. I drove in first gear the whole way home, almost got taken out by a herd of water buffalo, damaged the tranny and will never get behind the wheel after a couple drinks again. 1 drink is my limit now, anymore and it's alternate transport time and if no motorized methods available, it's two feet and a heart beat trekking time. I'd rather walk than get in the car with someone who's had a few but they're employing the "I'm fine to drive, trust me" mantra. If needed, i even offer to be the designated driver to ensure we all get home, even if it means missing out on some of the fun. There is too much to loose with that gamble and you never know the odds until you get home, if you make it home.

There are so many innocent lives lost every year at the hands of the intoxicated "ignorants" that think "I'm ok to drive, i only had a few", "It's only a couple blocks", "If i leave my car here, how am i going to get back to it...." Well, you get the idea and could come up with a lot more illogical reasons. The problem is they, the drunk drivers, don't consider the ramifications if they do get in an accident and injury or kill someone else. Everyone is sublime as long as it doesn't happen to you, your family or friends.

Just over 2 years ago, I lost a childhood friend to a drunk driver. We had not spoken in over 10 years due to me traveling and moving to another city and had recently reconnected online. Two weeks before i was to go and visit her and catch up, a drunk driver jumped the curb and killed her when she was walking home from a hockey game. The driver was callous enough to start administering first aid, but when people who witnessed the accident started talking to him, he became nervous and drove away and then denied drinking and causing the accident when the cops showed up to arrest him at his home. When they arrested him, he was 3 times over the legal limit, 3 times!! But he still drove home and after the accident so i can only assume what his level was at the time of the accident. I hope he rots in jail and becomes someones little fish for that.

Unfortunately, these changes came too late for Jayna and many others, but hopefully it will prevent other families from going through the same thing. The new law offers more power to the police, better driver license suspensions and stiffer fines and penalties to those who get caught. An estimated 130 people are killed in British Columbia every year as a result of drunk driving. That's 130 too many...

Now what are the new changes you might ask? Firstly, it gives police the authority to impose tougher roadside penalties for impaired drivers instead of going through the courts. Whether they refuse a breath sample or are found with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit of 0.08 per cent, they will face an immediate, 90-day driving ban plus a $500 fine as well as their vehicle can be impounded for 30 days. They may also face criminal charges.

Makes you kinda think twice about the cost of a cab ride compared to this now doesn't it?
Just wait, this new law gets better and more costly for those who break it....

The new rules also create a “warning” category for drivers with blood alcohol levels between 0.05 and 0.08 per cent. This will affect the socialites who only have a couple bevies and think they are still OK to drive. Now remember, alcohol impairs judgment, so do you really think your brain is functioning at it's highest level to make that decision when it's time to go home? Now for those who's brain convinces them to get behind the wheel, you now have the chance of winning an immediate, three day driving ban and a $200 fine. Do it a second time, and you will receive a seven day ban and a $300 fine. Rinse and repeat for a third time and you "win" a 30-day ban and a $400 fine. Also, regardless if you get a warning or impaired driving offence, you also have the benefit of having to pay more to restore your driving privileges, up to $3,750 following any roadside suspension. That amount includes a fine, a driver's licence reinstatement fee, the cost of a mandatory Responsible Driver Program, a towing and a impound fee, and the cost of an ignition interlock device, which the offender must use for one year. If your interested in more info, you can visit ICBC's drinking and driving section.

To sum it all up, here is an excerpt from the press release summarizing the new law:

Penalties for all impaired drivers will increase. For example, a driver who provides a breath sample in the “fail” range on a roadside screening device (above 0.08 per cent BAC) will face:

• An immediate, 90-day driving ban and a $500 administrative penalty. Currently, a driver who receives a 90-day ban may still drive for three weeks before that ban is in effect, and no administrative penalty applies.
• A driver’s licence reinstatement fee of $250 – up from the current $100.
• A bill of about $700 for towing and 30 days of impoundment. Currently, drivers may get their vehicle back the day after they are caught.
• Mandatory participation in the existing Responsible Driver Program, which costs participants $880, and mandatory use of an ignition interlock device for one year, which currently costs $1,420.

Thus, one “fail” on a roadside screening device will cost a driver about $3,750 before they can legally operate a vehicle again, following any related suspension.

The driver may also face an impaired driving charge under the Criminal Code of Canada.

A driver who provides a breath sample in the “warn” range on a roadside screening device (between 0.05 and 0.08 per cent BAC) for the first time in a five-year period will face:

• A three-day driving ban and a $200 administrative penalty. (Note: these will rise to a seven-day ban and $300 penalty for a second “warn” reading within five years, and a 30-day ban and $400 penalty for a third “warn” reading within five years.) Currently, a 24-hour driving ban is common for a “warn.”
• A driver’s licence reinstatement fee of $250. This is a new cost for this driver, as the current reinstatement fee of $100 only applies to driving bans longer than 24 hours.
• The possibility of three days of vehicle impoundment, which will cost about $150.

Thus, a driver’s first “warn” will cost about $600 once the new laws are in effect.

So that possible $20 cab ride that you didn't want to spring for just cost you between 3-90 days without your license and/or car plus up to around $4000 in fines in the end. Plus, if you crash while drinking and driving, you’re likely in breach of your insurance policy. That means you could be personally responsible for 100% of the costs if you damage someone else’s property or injure them. That's works out to about 200 times the cost of a cab plus avoidance of possibly loosing your job because you don't have a license or ability to drive to work....

Now everybody is built differently and there are different factors that can determine blood alcohol level and how it affects you. According to an online calculator provided by the Canadian Automobile Association, a 120-pound woman who has two glasses of wine in two hours would be above 0.05. A 180-pound man would reach that level after four beers over the same time. Interested in finding out what your potential limit would be (if you still want to try and get behind the wheel after a couple drinks), click here.

All we can do now is wait and see if the new law reduces the number of drunk drivers based on stats for the number of drinking related suspensions and reduction in drinking related injuries and fatalities.

In the end it will be up to YOU. Ask yourself the following:
Do you have enough wisdom to take an alternate way home than driving home drunk?
Do you have enough extra $$$ kicking around to deal with the implications of being caught?
Can you live with yourself if you hurt or kill someone?

And for those that still feel the need to defend the logic for them getting behind the wheel after a couple drinks, thinking nothing bad will happen when they shouldn't have been behind the wheel in the first place, i leave you with this image. If you ever try and defend your logic to me on why you can still drive after a few, not one but a few meaning more than 1, this is my response. Also, if you still feel the need to defend your drunk driving logic to someone, please think of this pic first before you speak your "bass ackwards" logic and reasoning. Yet again, this pic may not help as an ignorant person should keep silent. But if they knew this, they would not be an ignorant person.