B.C. bars onside as impaired driving deaths drop
CBC News
Posted: Jul 11, 2011 4:27 PM PT
Last Updated: Jul 11, 2011 5:02 PM PT
Representatives of B.C.'s restaurant association are giving up their fight against the province's tougher drinking and driving laws in light of the latest figures on impaired driving fatalities.
The provincial government announced Monday that in the first seven months of the new laws, B.C. recorded a 50 per cent drop in alcohol-related traffic deaths.
Statistics showed that 30 people died during that period, compared to an average of 61 deaths for the same period over the past five years.
The news has prompted B.C.'s Restaurant and Foodservices Association to end its lobbying efforts aimed at relaxing the laws to previous standards, according to the organization's president, Ian Tostenson.
"This is a battle that's not going to get anybody anywhere," Tostenson said Monday. "We're saving lives, we've had some time to think about how to adapt as an industry, so now it's time to move on and be part of the solution."
Drop in business
B.C. introduced the toughest impaired driving laws in Canada last fall, which dictate an immediate three-day driving ban for any driver recording a .05 blood alcohol level at a road-side stop.
Laws are even tougher and fines and related expenses much higher for anyone recording a blood-alcohol level of .08 or more.
The change in the law led to a reported drop in restaurant and bar business and demands that the government return to the previous drinking and driving regulations.
Tostenson said his industry will now look for ways to improve shuttle, taxi and bus service for bar and restaurant patrons.
With files from the CBC's Steve LusShare Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Surrey RCMP seek hit-run driver
- Police are looking for a light-coloured Chrysler with damage to the driver's front side after a pedestrian was hit in Surrey, B.C., early Sunday morning. more »
- B.C. man who scaled Everest returns home
- A Vancouver man who climbed the world's highest mountain is back home and talking about the adventure. more »
- Fort Langley restaurant damaged in fire
- A sushi restaurant in Fort Langley, B.C., was damaged in a fire early Sunday morning. more »
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
- B.C. NDP calls for unity in fighting coast guard closure
- Surrey RCMP seek hit-run driver
- B.C. man who scaled Everest returns home
- Fort Langley restaurant damaged in fire
- Passengers' families sue for fatal B.C. plane crash
- B.C. Coast Guard Auxiliary gets new name
- Tsunami motorcycle heading to Harley museum
- Psych ward escapes worry neighbours
- Gang forum honours Surrey 6 victim
