MADD Canada Welcomes Enactment of New Brunswick's New Anti-Impaired Driving Measures

OAKVILLE, ON--(Marketwired - August 17, 2017) - MADD Canada welcomes today's announcement by the Government of New Brunswick that impaired driving measures, originally passed as part of Bill 16, will be enacted and enforced in the fall.

The changes include:

• Addition of vehicle impoundments to the province's current licence suspension program for drivers with BACs in the warn range (between .05% and .08% BAC), and vehicle impoundment provisions for novice drivers.
• Making alcohol ignition interlocks a mandatory condition of relicencing for all drivers convicted of a federal impaired driving offence.
• Addition of escalating roadside licence suspensions for drivers with repeat infractions in the warn range.
• Introducing a 24-hour suspension for drivers who are found to be unfit to drive.

"Research and experience in other jurisdictions has shown that these kinds of impaired driving laws and sanctions have a major impact on reducing impaired driving, saving lives and preventing injuries," said MADD Canada Chief Executive Officer Andrew Murie. "We thank the Government of New Brunswick for its commitment to preventing impaired driving and making the province's roads safer."

The vehicle impoundment has become a particularly important component of provincial legislation, thanks to the dramatic impact it has on impaired driving rates and related fatalities. In 2010, British Columbia became the first province to include vehicle impoundments in its warn-range and roadside licence suspension program. The province has seen a 50% decrease in alcohol-related road fatalities since then. Alberta saw a similar decrease after introducing its impoundment program in 2012. Saskatchewan has also recently added a vehicle impoundment component to its warn-range licence suspension program.