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Impaired Driver Destroys Fast-Food Restaurant

April 13, 2018 By Editorial Staff

impaired-driving-property-damageMost of the efforts against drunk driving centre around the death and injury that it causes. In Canada, that’s considerable. In fact, the percentage of road fatalities in Canada which are alcohol-related is the highest among the developed countries of the world. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that 34 percent – a full third – of road deaths involved impairment.

What’s not often understood is how much pain is caused by impaired driving property damage and loss well. Drunk drivers don’t just hit people – they hit parked cars, buildings, houses, and other structures. Recently a drunk driver managed to wipe out an entire business.

A franchise of the fast-food chain La Belle Province in Laval was wrecked in the middle of the night by a driver who was, according to news reports, impaired.

The owner saw the restaurant, into which he’d put all his savings, severely damaged – possibly irreparably.

Fortunately the restaurant is insured. But anyone who has had a business or home damaged knows how much heartache it causes, and how much hard work it will take just to get back to where things were before the crash.

The cost of impaired driving goes beyond the things that are smashed when the car hits. Police and ambulance services cost money, and incidents like this also affect the cost of insurance for everyone.  Other effects, such as stress and worry, can’t be quantified, but are nonetheless real.

The main reason to fight drunk driving is to save life and protect citizens against injury. But impaired driving property damage can threaten people’s livelihoods as well.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Quebec

Drink Maker Does the Right Thing, Axes Caffeine-Alcohol Brew.

March 28, 2018 By Editorial Staff

caffeine-alcohol-drink-axedWhen you make an alcoholic drink that’s designed for kids, you’re treading on very shaky moral ground. After a 14-year-old girl died, the Québec-based company Groupe Geloso said it would no longer produce the caffeine-alcohol drink.

The drink was never explicitly targeted for teens, but the signals were there if you know where to look for them. The drink was very sweet, had a caffeine content to boost energy, and was packaged in brightly-colored cans resembling energy drinks or soda. The name of the drink was FCKD UP, and it had 11.9 percent alcohol by volume.

The company claimed it put out the drink to compete with an American brand, Four Loko, which has a similar formula. In the US it sells some drinks with an ABV as high as 14 percent.

Putting aside for a second the fact that both drink names refer to being drunk, crazy or out of control, it’s clear that the packaging and formula are both tailored to young drinkers. Casual adult drinkers don’t usually opt for caffeine in their cocktail – they’re out to relax. Getting drunk as a preparation for energetic pursuits is typical with underage drinkers.

A 2016 US study found that Canada had the highest percentage of roadway deaths linked to alcohol impairment.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada notes that auto crashes are the number one cause of death among Canadians aged 16 to 25, and more than half of those involve alcohol or drugs.

Halting the production of one drink brand won’t turn that around by itself. But it does strike a blow for accountability. Groupe Geloso did the right thing, and stores should consider dropping the other brands of teen-friendly alcoholic drinks as well. A hat tip to Groupe Geloso for putting people before profits.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Quebec, Underage Drinking

Tempted to Drink And Drive in Quebec? Try Operation Red Nose

November 29, 2017 By Shelly Wutke

drink and drive in Quebec Operation Red Nose is a well known program all across Canada. If you need a sober driver during the busy holiday season you can call them, request a ride, and someone will pick you up and drive your car home too. That way, anyone tempted to drink and drive in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, or anywhere else will have no reason not to ask for a safe ride home.

Every year Operation Red Nose designates an ambassador for the program, and this year that person for the Outaouais region in Quebec is Daniel Séguin. He used to be known as a popular morning radio host in Gatineau, but now he’s also known as a convicted drunk driver who’s Quebec DUI case has finally settled after seven years.

Séguin was driving drunk in August of 2010 when he crashed into a woman’s car. She was a few months pregnant at the time, and he had a blood alcohol content (BAC) three times the legal limit.

After his case settled and he was sentenced to 90 days in jail, he thought about putting it all behind him and moving on. He knew he made a mistake when he decided to drink and drive in Quebec, but when he was asked to be the ambassador for Operation Red Nose, he decided to accept with the thought it might take him full circle.

As a convicted drunk driver he’s the perfect person to promote Operation Red Nose. He has an experience he can share with other drivers who may be tempted to make the same choice, and he understands what can happen if you drink and drive.

You’ll find Operation Red Nose operating in Quebec on certain dates in December. If you’re ever tempted to drink and drive during the holidays, hopefully you’ll remember there’s a helping hand and a sober driver out there waiting for you.

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Filed Under: General Information Tagged With: Quebec

Quebec Impaired Driving Laws Could Use A Refresh

December 23, 2016 By Shelly Wutke Leave a Comment

Quebec impaired driving lawsAnyone who has ever received an “F” on his or her report card will tell you that it stings, so you can imagine how lawmakers and law enforcement in Montreal felt when they discovered that Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) gave them a failing grade for on their annual impaired driving review back in 2015.

Along with New Brunswick, Montreal received the lowest score out of the entire country. Although Quebec has an ignition interlock law in place, this grade was handed out for two reasons. One, Quebec doesn’t have a warn range violation penalty for anyone with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) between .05 and .08. Other provinces have warn range violations and the penalties include short term roadside suspensions and vehicle impoundment. Quebec impaired driving law does state that police have the power to charge you even if you’re below .08.

Two, Quebec doesn’t have mandatory alcohol screening. That means police don’t have to see obvious signs that you’re drunk before they ask you to submit to a breathalyzer. When you’re pulled over, you have to submit.

There’s one main reason why MADD wants Quebec to change their impaired driving laws to include these provisions: drunk driving crashes. The province has more than their fair share of crashes, and they’re claiming lives at a frequency that’s hard to believe.

Take one crash that happened at the beginning of November. A man was driving on the wrong side of a highway when he struck another vehicle. Inside that vehicle was a thirteen year old girl and her parents. Although she lived, her parents died as a result of their injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was seriously injured as well, and police are waiting on charges.

Not even a week later a young man was hit by an impaired driver when hew as crossing the street in the early morning. He’s currently in critical condition and the driver was arrested for impaired driving.

Stopping theses crashes and putting an end to death and injury because of impaired driving is at the top of MADD’s to-do list, and these changes could help Quebec crack down on their drunk drivers. Even one more death is one too many, so let’s hope Quebec lawmakers make these changes a top priority.

Filed Under: Law Tagged With: Quebec

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