Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles
Driver Behaviour and Road Safety
News and Updates
April 30, 2012 – New Helmet and Seating Laws now in Effect
March 19, 2012 – Province makes changes to DriveABLE
The provincial government is taking action in response to concerns raised by some seniors about the DriveABLE program. The changes will ensure that British Columbians can do their driving assessments closer to home and will alleviate the potential anxiety some seniors are experiencing around doing an on-screen assessment.
December 2, 2011 – Message from the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles
A decision by the B.C. Supreme Court on the constitutional challenge of the Province’s Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) legislation was released on November 30th, 2011.
The Court did not strike down the entire IRP legislation, but found that “fail” range IRPs are unconstitutional because there is no meaningful review of roadside results in the “fail” range. However, the Court upheld the constitutionality of “warn” range IRPs.
Although the judge has released his decision, the formal terms of the order have not yet been settled and government legal counsel continues to review the decision.
In response to the decision, police will revert to the previous sanctions available, which include an immediate 24-hour suspension and, following further testing at the police station, a possible 90-day driving prohibition and possible Criminal Code charges.
IRPs will continue to be issued to drivers who blow a “warn” on an ASD, as these IRPs have been upheld.
We continue to review the decision and will provide further information as it becomes available.
S.C. (Steve) MARTIN Superintendent of Motor Vehicles
November 23, 2011
Preliminary data continues to indicate a significant and sustained decrease in alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities.
The results from the first 12 months of data (October 2010 to September 2011) showed a 40% decrease in fatalities, compared to the average for the same period the previous five years.
There were 68 alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities between October 2010 and September 2011, compared to an average of 113 alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities for the same October to June time period for the previous five years.
For more information – Alcohol Related Fatalities, October 2010 to September 2011 [PDF]
See also, news release - B.C.'s tough impaired laws: one year, 45 lives saved (News Room)
October 26, 2011
Preliminary data continues to indicate a significant and sustained decrease in alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities.
The results from the first ten months of data (October 2010 to July 2011) showed a 47% decrease in fatalities, compared to the average for the same period the previous five years.
There were 49 alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities between October 2010 and July 2011, compared to an average of 93 alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities for the same October to June time period for the previous five years.
For more information – Alcohol Related Fatalities, October 2010 to July 2011 [PDF]
British Columbia’s tough new Immediate Roadside Prohibitions (IRPs) have gone a long way to increasing public safety by giving police the tools to immediately remove impaired drivers from our roads. Even though we have seen improvements, impaired driving remains a serious problem. Impaired driving is the leading criminal cause of death and remains one of the leading causes of fatal collisions.
The goal of the new impaired driving laws is to reduce the 127 people killed and the 3,400 injured on average each year in this province because of impaired-related crashes.
September 29, 2011
Impaired Driving Laws are Saving Lives
Preliminary data continues to indicate a significant and sustained decrease in alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities.
The results from the first nine months of data (October 2010 to June 2011) showed a 48% decrease in fatalities, compared to the average for the same period the previous five years.
There were 44 alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities between October 2010 and June 2011, compared to an average of 84 alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities for the same October to June time period for the previous five years.
For more information – Alcohol Related Fatalities, October 2010 to June 2011 [PDF]
September 9, 2011
Impaired Driving Laws are Saving Lives
Preliminary data continues to indicate a significant and sustained decrease in alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities.
- The results from the first six months of data (October 2010 to March 2011) showed a 49% decrease in fatalities, compared to the average for the same period the previous five years.
- The seven month data (October 2010 to April 2011) showed a 50% decrease and the latest data.
- For eight months (October 2010 to May 2011) showed the trend continuing with a 51% decrease in fatalities, as compared to the average for the previous five years for the same time period.
There were 35 alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities between October 2010 and May 2011, compared to an average of 72 alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities for the same October to May time period for the previous five years.
For more information – Alcohol Related Fatalities, October 2010 to May 2011 [PDF]
August 2, 2011
Impaired Driving Laws are Saving Lives
Since the introduction of the new impaired driving laws on September 20, 2010, there has been a significant decrease in alcohol-related fatalities. There were 30 alcohol-related fatalities from October 2010 to April 2011. This is a 50 per cent decrease in the number of alcohol-related fatalities for the same seven month time period for the previous five years (61 fatalities).
For more information – Alcohol Related Fatalities, October 2010 to April 2011 [PDF]
To read more about Impaired Driving Laws in British Columbia see the Impaired Driving page on this website – www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/osmv/road-safety/impaired-driving.htm
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