Albertans brace for tough new drunk-driving law taking effect Labour Day weekend

Albertans are being forced to come to grips with tougher new drunk-driving laws, just as their neighbours in British Columbia did a couple of years ago.

But apparently not everyone in Canada's oil capital is getting the message as the final phase of the new law takes effect Saturday, Sept. 1.

The Calgary Herald reported Tuesday that police have issued 994 automatic indefinite licence suspensions since July 1 under new rules that snare people blowing .08 or above on the breathalyser. The suspensions last until criminal charges are resolved.

Alberta Transportation Minister Ric McIver was dismayed by the numbers.

"It tells me not everyone has got the message yet," McIver told the Herald.

The Alberta law also includes three-day vehicle seizures, in addition to any potential Criminal Code penalties imposed when the case goes to court, the Herald noted.

This is going to sound familiar to drivers across the border in British Columbia, which passed what many consider the toughest impaired-driving laws in Canada back in 2010.

The legislation imposes fines and penalties up to thousands of dollars, car seizures and licence suspensions for drivers blowing as little as .05. It was rejigged after the B.C. Supreme Court ruled drivers had no way to challenge the result of a roadside breath test, according to The Canadian Press.

Under revisions that took effect last spring, police must inform drivers they can take a second test if they fail the first one and that the lower of the two readings will be the one that counts.

The effect of the tougher B.C. law has been dramatic, the government says. Drunk-driving deaths have fallen by 44 per cent since it initially came into force in 2010, equivalent to 71 lives saved.

Alberta learned from the B.C. experience and its law includes the right to a breath-test do-over, as well as a chance to appeal suspensions and vehicle seizures of more than three days to the independent Alberta Transportation Safety Board, the Herald said. The quasi-judicial agency has already overturned one licence suspension.

But that's not stopping defence lawyers from challenging the law, specifically the indefinite licence suspension. They argue it's designed to get people to plead guilty quickly, instead of fighting the charge in court, so they can get their licences back sooner.

"If you're actually innocent, you're in a particular dilemma," D'Arcy DePoe, president of the Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association, told the Herald.

As of Saturday, Alberta will also have non-criminal penalties for drivers who test between .05 and .08 — three-day licence suspension and vehicle seizure.

McIver said the lower level still represents impairment but suggested that shouldn't stop people from drinking.

"They can go out and have a couple of drinks with their friends," he said. "They can go out and have dinner and share a bottle of wine with friends."

"They just need to be responsible and know their limits and behave within their limits. For the people who do that already, nothing has changed."

The same soothing official comments greeted B.C.'s tougher lower limit, but many British Columbians are still not sure whether a glass of wine could land them by the side of the road without their car.

Restaurants and bars have reported a drop in patronage and liquor sales as many err on the side of caution.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada has welcomed the trend to enforcing lower blood-alcohol limits, noting about 20 per cent of crashes are caused by drivers below the Criminal Code limit of .08.