Kelowna worst in Canada for drunk driving rates

[zzontar]

I like the idea of breathalyzers right in the steering wheel. Any trace of alcohol and the car won't start. Drinking drivers kill way more people than terrorists. IMHO it's time to stop them for good.

... and crappy sober drivers will cause way, way more collisions than drunk drivers. It's too bad that so many people fall into this category that they'll fool themselves into thinking targeting a small percentage of the problem is the better solution.

[Glacier]

So ICBC says drunk driving is down, but this study says drunk driving is way up. Hmmm, who is lying?

P.S. Why do rural areas have much higher rates than urban ones?

[Bsuds]

What we need is for self driving cars to become the norm on the road.

All the drunks will be in the Home Depot parking lot in the morning after telling their cars to "takeshme home" ...

[Phoenix Within]

Yet we just approved how many new police jobs for Kelowna...?

Kelowna is supposedly under-serviced for the amount of officers we have per capita. The new jobs (depending on how many) *MIGHT* bring us up to par.

[SurplusElect]

P.S. Why do rural areas have much higher rates than urban ones?

Lack of public transit / cabs.

It's not that cabs are expensive in Kelowna, its that you have to wait 30-60 minutes for one at peak times.

@ Phoenix Within

We have lots of money to set up roadblocks at 2am and to hire more police, but not to run the buses past midnight?

[Phoenix Within]

but not to run the buses past midnight?

That's the city''s issue. Hows that "open for business" policy working for everyone?

[kibbs]

Kelowna is supposedly under-serviced for the amount of officers we have per capita

more police cost more taxes,that would not go over well with many.a bylaw requiring bars collect keys and you blow to get them back.wheres all the designated driver programs .i barely drink but really don't want to hang with drunks all night .a free something that identifies us , we can hang with each other and drive our drunk friends home

[goatboy]

We could be like France:

A new law has come into force in France making it compulsory for drivers to carry a breathalyser kit in their vehicles or risk an on-the-spot fine.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18662555

[JUST-SAYIN]

So ICBC says drunk driving is down, but this study says drunk driving is way up. Hmmm, who is lying?

These stats are only up to 2011. 10 fewer people were charged (in Kelowna) over the Christmas season compared to last year. Consider the initial increase in enforcement when the legal limit was lowered to .05, then consider when the law was challenged; random checks and roadblocks virtually dried up, but did not disappear. When the law was amended to satisfy the court challenge, officers then had a solid and speedy method of doing random checks again. Now they can do their job with minimal fear that the process will be challenged.

Devices like Bio-metric sensors that measure BAC, BP, heart rate, etc as well as monitor driving speeds, lane changes, breaking patterns will begin to enter the US market in 2016 as mandated by the NTSB (US), unless the privacy folks and auto-makers kill it. For older vehicles we need to look at the system implemented in France requiring all vehicles to have a properly working breathalyser in every car, and be able to present it when pulled over.

Too bad all this is necessary to protect people from such a senseless act, but that is the society we have created and must live within. I believe that 20 years from now people will look at drunk driving the way we think of smoking, no matter how much you like it, it's just plain wrong. Someone once told me that drinking is a privilege, not a right; manage it accordingly.

[diggerdick]

This worst drunk driving rating in Kelowna,I believe directly correlates with the abuse of the new .05 Civil law.

When you can convict someone with a simple use Of roadside screening device And bypass judges and lawyers Of course there will be more.

Can you people imagine how high the conviction rate would be With other crimes If the police could just simply convict people Without due process

You're a thief, you did an assault,and your shoplifter and by the way I also saw you J. walk and of course you're all guilty because I said so screw the court system

It's sad so many of you people people don't have the mental capability to understand that.

[underscore]

In car breathalyzers are already widely and affordably available that can tell the diff between Listerine and Smirnoff.

I wouldn't be so sure about that, have you seen the list of things you can't drink when a car is equipped with a breathalyser tied to the ignition? Coffee is on there along with a long list of other things.

[se123]

Probably a couple of more reasons. Kelowna has one of the worst taxi systems of anywhere I've seen. And Kelowna cops' forte is impaired driving and not solving any real crimes.

[JayByrd]

This worst drunk driving rating in Kelowna,I believe directly correlates with the abuse of the new .05 Civil law.

When you can convict someone with a simple use Of roadside screening device And bypass judges and lawyers Of course there will be more.

Can you people imagine how high the conviction rate would be With other crimes If the police could just simply convict people Without due process

You're a thief, you did an assault,and your shoplifter and by the way I also saw you J. walk and of course you're all guilty because I said so screw the court system

It's sad so many of you people people don't have the mental capability to understand that.

Well, if you insult me at the end of your post, you must be right. Are you trying to open people's eyes, or make them think you're a jerk? You're definitely succeeding at one of them.

[W105]

a friend has one of those portable breathalyzers( it cost $250) and we played with it one night...did a mouth rinse with Scope and blew 2.5 with NO booze in my system (shocked the hell out of me) I found it rather funny, cause way back in the day people would have a bottle of Scope in their car incase they got pulled over and didn't want their breath to smell like booze...my 30 yr old nephew got caught last yr in a road block on water st...it cost him thousnads of dollars for the impound, fine, RDP program etc...he just completed all of that and now he to complete a full yr with a installed breathalzer in his car (think he said $600 to install and $100 per mth to read)...and he lost his motorcycle license too, and his job...this was his 1st offense...they ain't playing anymore (back in 1979 my boyfriend got an impaired, he got a 30 day suspension and some points and that was it...we've come along way )

oh and I agree the cabs suck here and are very expensive...$35 from Cawston Ave to Hudson road and there was little traffic it was 11pm

[diggerdick]

So you believe you being insulted

That must mean, at teacher is insulting his students

That statement only means that I find it incredibly amusing that the simplicity of the statement at times can be very hard for other people understand