WHAT IS IMPAIRED DRIVING?
A person is IMPAIRED after consuming any amount of alcohol, illegal drugs, or medication that causes drowsiness.
When a person is IMPAIRED he/she is in NO condition to drive.
WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF I DRIVE IMPAIRED?
IMPAIRED DRIVING can change your life forever:
* It can KILL or INJURE you, someone you love, or another innocent person
* You can receive a CRIMINAL RECORD
* You can be IMPRISONED for up to 14 years
* You can be FINED up to $50,000.00
* You can receive a LIFE-TIME LICENCE SUSPENSION
HOW CAN I ARRIVE HOME SAFELY?
There are numerous options available for you to arrive safely!
* Take a taxi
* Ride public transportation
* Call a sober friend or family member to come pick you up
* Use a designated driver
* Stay over somewhere safe
WHAT IS A DESIGNATED DRIVER?
A DESIGNATED DRIVER is someone who does not drink or get high and can therefore safely drive you home.
Whenever you go to a party where alcohol is served, make sure you have a DESIGNATED DRIVER.
CIVIL LIABILITY
When hosting a party at your house, your office, a rented hall, a golf course, or on municipal property such as a park or a community centre, you are responsible for your guest's actions and behavior. In other words, if one of your guest's drives home after drinking and is involved in a accident, whether or not you served him/her the alcohol, you can be sued!
SOME STATISTICS
* On average 4.5 Canadians are killed daily and more than 125 Canadians are injured daily as a result of alcohol related collisions. That's one death every 5 hours and an injury every 12 minutes!
* In 1996, 78,894 people in Canada were charged with an impaired driving offence!
FACTS
* Upon arrest, you immediately lose your licence for 90 days.
* The expense of lawyer's fees
* A criminal record
* A minimum fine of $600.00 for a first offence and a jail term for a second offence
* Loss of your drivers licence for one year
* A requirement to take an alcohol education and treatment program (at a cost of about $500.00 to the offender) to get your licence back
* A requirement to have an ignition interlock device installed on your vehicle for at least one year at a cost of approximately $1,265.00
* Massive increases to your insurance rates that could total more than $30,000.00 over six years
The above measures are all real penalties and effects of one conviction of impaired driving. Doesn't seem worth it, does it?