Drinking and driving fatalities down 52% in B.C. after tougher law introduced

Drinking and driving-related deaths have decreased by 52% in the few years since British Columbia passed tougher laws, the provincial government said this week.

The Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) program was launched in September 2010, in honour of four-year-old Alexa Middelaer, who was killed by a drunk driver in 2008. At that time, the province set a goal to reduce drinking and driving fatalaties by 35% by the end of 2013.

The 52% decrease by the end of last year represents 190 lives that have been saved since the legislation came into effect, according to the government. Under the IRP program, drinking and driving fatalities have dropped to an average of 54 a year, from a prior five-year average of 112.

Research from the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C. also suggests that the drinking and driving laws have resulted in a 23% decline in injuries and 19.5% decline in property damage, the government noted.