Last week CTV reported that the number of people who were given driving prohibitions in connection with an alleged drinking and driving offence since December 1, 2011, was a fraction of the number from the same period the year before and about half of what we would see in a typical year. These are important statistics for a number of reasons and it was not fully fleshed out in the story.
Paul was interviewed by CTV the day before, and the clip used in this particular news report was not in relation to the statistics. So we did not get a chance to explain the reasons for the drop in the number of DUI driving prohibitions. There are a number of factors.
Factor 1: More Reliable Tests
The most important factor is that the police are no longer permitted to rely on unreliable ASDs to issue driving prohibitions. If a person blows Fail on an ASD they may be exonerated by a later test on an Approved Instrument, typically a BAC Datamaster, at a police station. So take out 20% to 25% from the number the year before for innocent people.
Factor 2: Police Pouting
Many police officers love the power they have under the IRP scheme. Their judgment is never questioned, the quality of their work is not scrutinized, and they can count on the IRP being upheld on review. When the court ruled that the scheme violated the Charter, many officers lamented having to actually do their job, i.e. conduct impaired driving investigations. And so there has been a boycott to some extent. What we have noticed is that there are fewer officers actually carrying through with full impaired driving investigations unless there is an accident.
Factor 3: Police & Government Conspiring to Manipulate the Numbers
As we noted before, the reason that stats were way up last year was the overwhelming effort put into enforcement largely for the sake of stacking the deck when it came to a future review of the statistics. In this regard the police and the Government are in cahoots — they are working together to manipulate the statistics and the narrative with the goal of influencing the court and public opinion. The massive enforcement effort was responsible for the drop in DUI accidents — not the IRP scheme itself.
Factor 4: Public Discussion Dissuades Drunk Driving
There is research showing quite conclusively that drinking and driving goes down with public awareness. That is the point of education campaigns. In BC since the November 30, 2011 ruling there have been dozens and dozens of reports in newspapers, TV etc. about drinking and driving, and punishment and the dangers of drinking and driving. It is well known that this can have the effect of reminding people that it is not only unlawful, it is dangerous to drink and drive.