Canadians want more federal government action to reduce impaired driving

• 54% of all Canadians say the federal and provincial governments are not doing enough to reduce impaired driving; only 2 % say they are doing too much.
• 66% of non-drinkers say the federal government is not doing enough, compared to 51% of drinkers.
• Only 28% of those who admit to having driven when they thought they were impaired say the federal government is not doing enough.

Canadians support authorizing police to test suspect drivers

• More than 90% of all respondents support giving the police authority to demand a breath or blood sample, physical coordination test or drug test if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a driver is impaired.
• 88% support using an ignition interlock device for convicted impaired drivers.
• 61% support eliminating conditional sentences.

Canadians Have Limited Understanding of What Affects BAC Levels

• While a majority of respondents mention, unaided, the amount of alcohol consumed (56%), no more than 31% mentioned any other specific factor, such as the amount of food in a person's stomach, or a person's weight.
• Drivers who admit to having driven when they thought they were impaired are more aware of the various contributors to a person's BAC level than others.
• Only 5% of Canadians say a 200-pound man must have more than 6 drinks in two hours on an empty stomach to reach a BAC of 0.10%.
• 53% believe that a lower Criminal Code BAC limit will mean that it will be illegal to have one drink and then drive.

Support for a 0.05% BAC Criminal Code limit increases with awareness of the amount a driver can drink without reaching a 0.10% BAC

• Three in five Canadians support lowering the Criminal Code BAC limit
• After respondents were informed that 'blood alcohol concentration" is a measurement of alcohol in the blood at a given time and that a 200-pound man can drink 6 beers in 2 hours on an empty stomach without having a BAC of 0.10% or higher and would, therefore, not likely be charged with a Criminal Code offence if stopped and tested by police:
• The proportion of Canadians who say they support lowering the Criminal Code BAC limit rose from 59% to 69% -- a 16% increase.
• Most notably, those who would then say they "strongly support" lowering the BAC limit to 0.05% rose from 29% to 44% of all Canadians - a 52% increase.

Drinking and driving habits

• 8 in 10 adults drink alcoholic beverages.
• 61% of those who drink alcoholic beverages have 1 or 2 drinks on occasions when they drink.
• one-third of the male respondents aged 18-24 who drink alcoholic beverages have 6 or more drinks on occasions when they drink.
• 1 in 10 drivers admit they drove at least once in the past 12 months while probably over the Criminal Code BAC limit.
• 14% of all respondents say that in the past 12 months they have been in a vehicle with a driver they thought was probably over the Criminal Code BAC limit.
• 31% of the respondents aged 18-24 say that in the past 12 months they have been in a vehicle with a driver they thought was probably over the Criminal Code BAC limit.

One-quarter of all respondents say impaired driving is the top highway safety concern

• 24% of all respondents say, unaided, that impaired driving is the greatest highway safety concern.
• Speeding was mentioned most often by respondents (41%) as the greatest highway safety concern.

* This is an abbreviated excerpt from the Goldfarb Consultants' Executive Summary: Getting to a 0.05% Criminal Code BAC Limit: Public Opinion, Knowledge and Support, conducted for MADD Canada, and reported on May 13, 2002.

Goldfarb Consultants conducted the random sampling between March 11 and March 21, 2002. With a sample size of 1033, the margin of error is +/- 3.0%, 19 times out of 20.

For more information:

Andrew Murie, National Executive Director, MADD Canada 1-800-665-6233
Dr. Stephen Popiel, Senior VP, Goldfarb Consultants (416) 250-3656