The purpose of the report is: to document, describe, and discuss the most prominent trends in drinking and driving in Canada over the past two decades; to examine changes in the nature and characteristics of the problem over time; and to examine some of the major factors that may have contributed in the magnitude and characteristics of the problem. Several indicators were used to assess trends in drinking and driving, including: drinking driver fatalities; driving driver casualty crashes; impaired driving charges; the incidence of driving with a moderate blood alcohol concentration (BAC) (i.e., 50-80 mg%) and with an illegal BAC (i.e., over 80 mg%); and the frequency of self-reported driving after drinking. Overall, the evidence suggests that there has been a dramatic decrease in the magnitude of the drinking-driving problem in Canada over the past two decades, with the most pronounced changes occurring in the early half of the 1980s. Numerous activities such as new legislation, increased enforcement of impaired driving laws, and community-based programs all occurred simultaneously during the 1980s, making it difficult to determine which factor, or factors, were responsible for the observed decrease. (A)
Samenvatting