Kelowna worst in Canada for drunk driving rates

[Spocky]

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.

And @westside105 too. Not on any real breathalyzer that costs more than a pack of smokes. Check

http://comparebreathalyzers.com/

So if we HAVE to ban alcohol mouthwashes to keep thousands of people from being squashed by drunk drivers, I'll gladly put up with a little bad breath... to save the life of my 1 year old!

... 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.

Apply Japanese style driver's tests, hold them every 5 years (2 years over 65) and that will be the end of 99% of crappy drivers.

[bottleman]

I wonder how the list would change if the rest of the country had the .05 limit as well.

[joer2012]

Driving and operating a motor vehicle on the public highway is a privelidge, not a right. You are operating thousands of pounds of machine.

You want to drink or use drugs (any sort) or drive sleep deprived or otherwise incapacitated?

Then you are an idiot. The highways should be free of these reckless tools and yahoo turkeys.

No sympathy for drunks, drink drivers, those that cause accidents, or otherwise put people at risk.

Grow up, and accept your responsibilities and gain an understanding of the motor vehicle act while you're at it. 90% of drivers are idiots and liabilities. To the other 10%, I thank you for your diligence and professionalism.

Also in general, the ICBC driver testing and driver training is a joke.

And on the general subject, it would be kind to the rest of us if the families of these dangerous, doddering, weaving old clusterfuks took the licenses off the old timers, just to save us from their myopic mobile peril.

[underscore]

Apply Japanese style driver's tests, hold them every 5 years (2 years over 65) and that will be the end of 99% of crappy drivers.

I'm not familiar with Japans tests, but I know I wish Canada had the same ones as Sweden. There are 9 parts to the test, I think something like 3 of them involve slippery conditions and at least one involves being able to control a slide around a wide hairpin in a rear-wheel drive car on a wet road.

[Relentless]

Kelowna is full of strange people to begin with, and the fact that we are #1 for drunk driving rates doesn't surprise me.
Just imagine if we had a Police force capable of catching all the offenders in this City, how high our drunk driving rates would be!

For every one drunk pulled over at any one time, there are probably another 10 that get away with it because of lack of Police to actually patrol.
Also, what has changed in the last few years, is the general public is calling in drunk drivers way more than ever, since the advent of the cell phone and the ease to report them.
Possible "6-8's" are more frequent as people are welcomed to call 911 to report drunk drivers.

Personally, I think the cops could do a way better job nailing drunks and druggies if they would just listen to "good locations" for catching these types from civilians to setup road blocks on.
Like a "Report a Drunk" location where the cops would actually setup at, and nail all the losers that I see that shouldn't be driving for whatever reason!

Kelowna's Police force is typically Reactive, where it should be Pro-Active, and we wouldn't have so many freaks causing trouble in this City!

[SFrench]

has the thought crossed anyone's mind that BC is also the only province that tickets at .05 while every other province does at .07.

that's a fairly large margin in the long term, and its no wonder that all the BC cities that are noted are an immensely higher rate. the only thing that is being measured here is if people were ticketed, not the rate they blew. yes, all broke the respective laws, but with a lower limit you're going to catch more offenders regardless.

kind of a skewed way of looking at it. if the survey was # of people that were pulled over and blew over .07, we'd probably see a much different result.

oh and most of those summer visiters come from communities where the legal limit is .07...

[rutland1]

All the drunks in Ottawa get a police escort home each night. No wonder they have the lowest rate in the country.

[Kelo_Can613]

Ontario can give you a 3, 7, or 30 day suspension for blowing a WARN (0.05 - 0.08) just like in BC:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety ... heet.shtml

And again, the machine is calibrated to give the driver the benefit of the doubt and will only register a WARN at 0.06 or greater.

Likewise, the machine will only register a fail at 0.1, not 0.08. Therefore, why should we have any sympathy for those who want to *bleep* and complain about receiving a 90 day fail because it's "unfair", "unconstitutional" etc? You're clearly drunk and you failed and now you're just upset because you got caught.

Don't drink and drive - no problem.

kthnx

[StraitTalk]

I hope our local police are ashamed, as clearly people in this town think (and know) they can get away with it. I expect to see some action taking place to get us to be the best in Canada... this is totally unacceptable.

Also, Taxi's in this town are committing highway robbery which doesn't help either.

[SFrench]

Ontario can give you a 3, 7, or 30 day suspension for blowing a WARN (0.05 - 0.08) just like in BC:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety ... heet.shtml

And again, the machine is calibrated to give the driver the benefit of the doubt and will only register a WARN at 0.06 or greater.

Likewise, the machine will only register a fail at 0.1, not 0.08. Therefore, why should we have any sympathy for those who want to *bleep* and complain about receiving a 90 day fail because it's "unfair", "unconstitutional" etc? You're clearly drunk and you failed and now you're just upset because you got caught.

Don't drink and drive - no problem.

kthnx

I have no sympathy for those that get caught. its wrong, period, whether its 1 drink or 5, and you'll never catch me, or any guest of mine behind the wheel after having a drink.

I'm just saying the study is flawed. It will look for DUIs, not warnings issued. yeah, they can give you a license suspension and a fine that likely registers as a driving infraction, not a DUI, whereas in BC if its over .05 its a DUI. no ifs ands or buts.

and considering that WARN range is .05-.08, thats an even higher range where they can get away with it. its kind of interesting that not a single ontario city shows up in there *cough*hamilton*cough*, however i DO expect that larger metropolises with much better public transit systems will have much lower rates...

[underscore]

Also, Taxi's in this town are committing highway robbery which doesn't help either.

If you can afford to drink, you can afford a cab. They aren't cheap but they're cheaper than losing your car, license, job, or even life (or worse still, someone else's). Kelowna is an expensive place to live, and the cabbies have bills to pay as well.

[Poindexter]

I always shake my head when I hear BC Counter Attack taking credit for fewer fatalities due to drunk driving over the last 25 years. 25 years ago an airbag was a luxury item, now even the lower models have up to 6. The reason there are fewer fatalities is that cars are safer.

[theyeti]

i said that in some other thread and everyone called me an a hole lol

[Spocky]

Only and exclusively personally IMHO: Blow a 0.01 and go to jail. Drinkers right to be intoxicated do not trump my right to have my family survive a drive.

[GenuinelyInterested]

I always shake my head when I hear BC Counter Attack taking credit for fewer fatalities due to drunk driving over the last 25 years. 25 years ago an airbag was a luxury item, now even the lower models have up to 6. The reason there are fewer fatalities is that cars are safer.

BUT, WHO do you think is pushing the legislation forward? Yes, safer cars, and YES, safer roadways - drunk drivers, is a win/win/win for all drivers/insurance purchasers/grieving families/cab companies/and everyone else that I have overlooked in my haste to reply.