Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 89 Research shows that licence suspensions alone are not sufficient to keep certain offenders off the roads and therefore, additional vehicle-based sanctions are warranted to discourage and at least temporarily prevent some unlicensed, disqualified and prohibited offenders from driving and, particularly, from driving while impaired. Vehicle Impoundment Vehicle impoundments have shown positive results in reducing recidivism and subsequent crashes among affected drivers. MADD Canada recommends the impoundment or immobilization of any vehicle police have reasonable grounds to believe is uninsured or is being driven by an unlicensed, suspended or disqualified or prohibited driver. These drivers have shown they are unwilling to respect provincial licensing laws, and pose a very serious risk to public safety. The impoundment period should be 45 days for a first occurrence and 90 days for a second occurrence within three years. In addition to the longer-term impoundment program for those caught driving without a valid licence, MADD Canada recommends a short-term (7-day) impoundment where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the driver has committed an impaired driving offence. These short-term administrative impoundments are intended to supplement the roadside and administrative licence suspension provisions and serve to immediately remove impaired drivers and their vehicles from the road, and reduce the risk that these individuals will drive during the administrative suspension period. Vehicle Forfeiture MADD Canada recommends provinces/ territories implement a vehicle forfeiture program for drivers who are responsible for three or more vehicle impoundments within a ten year period. These individuals show a repeated willingness to endanger the public and violate vehicle licensing laws. Additionally, they often have limited or no third-party liability insurance, which puts the public at risk of serious financial loss in the event of a crash. Vehicle forfeiture programs have not been widely implemented in Canada and research into their effectiveness is limited. Nevertheless, existing research suggests that vehicle forfeiture programs are associated with reductions in alcohol-related crashes, fatalities and arrests. Drugs and Driving Drug-impaired driving is an increasingly serious problem in Canada. The presence of drugs other than alcohol in fatally-injured drivers increased by 24% from 2000 to 2008 (the most common drugs are cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, and depressants.) Drug impaired driving is also a serious concern among young people, with several regional and national surveys indicating more young Canadians report driving after using cannabis than after consuming alcohol. Drug impaired drivers are currently detected through special enforcement techniques used by police, including the standardized field sobriety test (SFTS) and drug recognition evaluation (DRE). MADD Canada recommends that provinces and territories establish administrative programs for drug-impaired drivers which would mirror existing programs for alcoholimpaired drivers: • A prohibition on the presence of illicit psychoactive drugs for all drivers under 21 or with less than five years driving experience. CANADA’S IMPAIREDDRIVING RECORD IS POOR BY INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS CONTINUED
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