Transport Minister Julie Boulet, left, was accompanied by the president of Quebec's Road Safety Task Force, Jean-Marie De Koninck for the announcement Monday. (CBC)

Quebec will lower the legal blood-alcohol level for drivers from 0.08 per cent to 0.05 per cent, putting the province in line with the rest of Canada, Transport Minister Julie Boulet said Monday.

The move follows a recommendation released by the Quebec Road Safety Task Force in its second report, tabled Monday.

Boulet said measures announced during the province’s Year of Road Safety in 2007 helped reduce the number road fatalities in the province to 608, a 60-year low.

But the latest report comes following the death of seven people in road accidents over the weekend in Quebec — all of them under the age of 25.

"I think we all have a responsibility to ask questions about what more we can do," Boulet said.

Drivers caught with more than 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood will lose their licence for a 24-hour period, said Boulet. They won’t be fined, or lose any points on their licence.

"The message is clear — when we drink, we don’t drive," Boulet said.

Drivers under the age of 22 will not be permitted to have any alcohol in their system Boulet said, adding alcohol plays a role in half of fatal accidents involving drivers 20 and 21 years of age.

The president of Quebec’s Road Safety Task Force, Jean-Marie De Koninck said he is confident Quebecers will respond positively.

"Once the public … realizes that it is dangerous to drive with 50 mg of alcohol in the body … I think they will change their behaviour," De Konick said.

But changing the legislation isn’t enough on its own, said Thomas Brown, a researcher at the Douglas Mental Health Institute in Montreal who studies impaired drivers. He said additional enforcement will also be necessary.

"Simply changing the laws makes a statement about what is acceptable social behaviour, but it doesn't necessarily change people's behaviour," Brown said.

Racers and car-surfers also targeted

The government will also impose stiffer sanctions on street racers and those who take part in car surfing — riding on the hood, roof or trunk of a moving vehicle as if surfing on it.

The fines for car surfing will be increased from between $30 to $60 — to up to $1,500.

Boulet said the government will also launch an awareness campaign to encourage cyclists to wear a helmet.

Boulet said the government may make helmets mandatory for cyclists 12 years old or younger.