In the past ten years, 235 drivers under 22 were killed in drinking and driving accidents in Ontario.
Starting August 1st, all drivers under 22 must have a zero blood alcohol level when they get behind the wheel of a car. Currently, the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers with G-level licenses is 0.05%.
Young drivers who are caught with any amount of alcohol in their system will be served with an immediate 24-hour roadside license suspension and face thirty-day license suspension and up to $500 in fines.
This follows a Statistics Canada report stating impaired-driving offences rose three per cent in 2009. There were 8,630 impaired-driving offences in Canada last year - the highest level in more than a decade.
Tom Wainwright, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Ottawa, said he supports any improvements on regulations involving drinking and driving. «It is important to get the message across to drivers at an early age that it is just not an acceptable practice,» he said.
The province is also introducing tougher penalties for all drivers who are caught with a blood-alcohol level that exceeds the legal limits. A first offence will yield a 30-day license suspension and a second will get a 90-day license suspension. Drivers caught violating the rules for third time will have their licenses revoked.
Another new rule, effective August 3, gives first-time drinking and driving offenders the chance to reduce their licence suspension if they agree to have an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicle, at their own cost. The province said this can help prevent impaired drivers from becoming repeat offenders.
Over the long weekend, The Ontario Provincial Police will be increasing their patrols of Ontario roadways following an increase of traffic fatalities in 2010. The OPP is vowing to crack down on irresponsible drivers who demonstrate the "big three" risk factors - aggressive driving, failure to use vehicle restraints and impaired driving.
«Our provincial traffic safety program and other positive factors led to some significant saving of lives in 2008 and 2009, but it is very disturbing to see the carnage on our highways start to creep back up again,» said OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino in a news release Tuesday. «Any loss of life due to irresponsible driving is unacceptable.»
Wainwright said it is important for drivers to think smart over the long weekend. «Find other alternatives, stay the night, have a designated driver. Just make the right choice.»
