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New laws targeting impaired driving in Alberta come into effect April 9

Mar 27, 2018 | 5:29 PM

EDMONTON, AB — New impaired driving laws will come into effect in Alberta in two weeks.

The province passed a law last fall, bringing in several new laws aimed at deterring drivers who are impaired by alcohol or drugs. The new laws state that all criminally impaired drivers will receive a 90-day licence suspension, followed by mandatory participation in a one-year ignition interlock program.

Drivers who refuse to participate in the program will have their licence suspended for one year.

“The loss and suffering that result from impaired driving are unacceptable and entirely preventable,” said Transportation Minister Brian Mason in a statement. “As the country prepares for legalization of cannabis, we’ve strengthened our provincial impaired driving sanctions to make our roads safer and continue to deter impaired driving—whatever the source of impairment may be.”

The law defines criminally impaired drivers as drivers with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 and over, drivers impaired by drugs or a combination of alcohol and drugs, and drivers who fail or refuse to comply with a demand for a breath or blood sample.

In addition to the rules regarding licence suspension, there will be zero tolerance for cannabis and illegal drugs in the bloodstream of drivers in the Graduated Driver Licensing program. Drivers in the program found with any amount of alcohol, cannabis, illegal drugs or their combination will be subject to a 30-day licence suspension, seven-day vehicle seizure and a lengthened term in the GDL program. Drivers who meet the requirements for criminal-level impaired driving will be subject to the same sanction and penalties as above.

The legislation also lays the groundwork for the province to enforce upcoming changes to federal impaired driving charges in the Criminal Code of Canada, with a specific eyes towards proposed blood drug concentration limits for cannabis and cannabis/alcohol combination, similar to the legal limits that already exist for alcohol.

According to the provincial government, from 2011 to 2015, 389 people were killed and 5,969 people were injured in alcohol-related collisions.