Doesn't that drive you MADD.
A recent story in the Nanaimo Daily News says fewer people are being charged with drunk driving since the new laws came in to effect in September.
It's not because the new law is working so well.
According to the article, fewer people are being charged with impaired driving since changes to the Motor Vehicle Act took effect on Sept. 20, resulting in fewer cases winding up in the courts.
With new discretionary powers to fine and seize the vehicles of drivers with blood-alcohol levels of between 50 milligrams and 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood, RCMP are recommending fewer criminal charges to Crown prosecuting attorneys.
Police now recommend prosecuting only those who are obviously too impaired or those who blow over the legal limit and are involved in accidents.
New "administrative penalties" range from $200 fines and three-day suspensions for drivers blowing a "warning" reading on a handheld blood-alcohol screening device, through $700 fines and a 90-day suspensions for blowing in the "fail" range.
It seems many police officers are satisfied with those penalties.
They either don't think the full-blown, criminal-offence charge is appropriate or it simply isn't worth the effort.
To take a suspected drunk driver to court is a serious pain in the serge.
Getting a drunk-driving conviction was never a slam dunk in the first place.
A Vancouver Province story suggested that in close to 500 cases where a suspected drunk had the wherewithal to hire a lawyer, a conviction was obtained only about 30 per cent of the time.
In another third the cases were plea-bargained down to a lesser offence and in the final third the case was dismissed. Usually on a technicality.
So, why bother.
To bring effective charges against a suspected drunk driver, an officer has to be meticulous in his or her work each step of the way. One minor slip and a good lawyer leaves the case shattered like a beer bottle hitting the pavement.
And worse than losing the case is the time out of each officer's day. Either they spend most of a shift sitting in a courtroom hoping against the odds to have all that time and effort pay off, or it's the officer's day off and we can all think of better ways to spend our own time than sitting in a courtroom.
So it should come as no surprise that the people who know see little upside from the new law.
According to the Daily News "The only thing I've seen a significant change in is the number of people going through the court system," said Sgt. John Blaase of the Nanaimo RCMP traffic section. "It's fewer."
In the two months ending Sept. 19, Nanaimo RCMP recommended charges against 56 people, but since the law was changed only nine criminal charges have been recommended.
In the past, if a motorist failed a roadside test, the offender would be brought into the station for a more accurate reading.
According to officer Blaase, "(Now) if I pull you over and I run you through the computer system and you'd had no issues before, why would I send you through the court system?"
Why indeed?
He already has you for a fine and at least a three-day suspension.
If you're not a Game Tight Soldier or a chronic drunk where's the upside?
And the best part about not bothering with a criminal charge is there's no chance to lose.
The new provincial charge is a slam dunk.
It's automatic.
Our provincial lawmakers have taken the guesswork out of it.
No one has to bother about that niggling little thing called the presumption of innocence.
Bottoms up!
