In October 2002 the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) hosted a one-day workshop on Impaired Driving Data in Ottawa, Ontario. It was organized by the CCMTA in conjunction with other road safety organizations and received sponsorship from Transport Canada and MADD Canada. In 2001 and 2002, a number of newspaper articles and news releases from several road safety organizations underscored the existence of some confusion regarding the interpretation of impaired driving statistics, which reflects, among other things, the complexity of the impaired driving problem in Canada. Moreover, it is a challenge to relay this complex issue in a simple and straightforward way through public awareness and educational materials. The objective of the workshop was to examine data collection, methodology, reporting issues and outcome data of impaired driving. A facilitated discussion was initiated following presentation of material on the following six categories: justice statistics, medical data, fatality data, collision data, international data and a police perspective. An additional important aspect of the workshop was to discuss and seek a common understanding of definitions related to impaired driving statistics and their use in public awareness campaigns. Two background documents were provided to participants prior to the workshop on: a) “The Alcohol-Crash Problem in Canada: 1999" produced by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) and, b) “The Real Facts on Alcohol Use, Injuries and Death,” produced by MADD Canada. These documents were circulated to participants for their information and to help stimulate discussions on the subject matter. This report presents the results, key findings and recommendations of the workshop. It identifies opportunities/weaknesses related to the use of fatal, injury and property-damage only (PDO) impaired driving data, enhancements, data linkages and partnerships, and the communication of information on impaired driving by way of public education campaigns. Time did not allow any prioritisation of the recommendations at the workshop. The views presented in this report are those of the workshop participants and are not necessarily the views of the CCMTA or sponsoring agencies. CCMTA and the STRID 2010 Task Force will review the key findings and recommendations to assist in the effort to reduce impaired driving and clearly communicate the results of these efforts to the public and other road safety organizations. (Author/publisher)
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