I spent more than 25 years policing in British Columbia, dealt with many impaired drivers and cleaned up their aftermath. When the B.C. Government announced the Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) program I was excited. Here was a chance to quickly deal a significant blow to those drivers who showed by their actions that they held other road users in no regard.
It was clear from the news stories that the program made a significant difference in the incidence of impaired driving and the crashes and misery that those drivers caused.
I was disappointed to learn that the design of the IRP with regard to those drivers whose blood alcohol level was over .08 did not measure up in our Supreme Court. The review provisions for those caught did not meet the requirements of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. OK, I thought, this is important and will be amended and back in use quickly.
We’re a few days short of four months later and not a peep from our government, so I sent a Tweet to Solicitor General Shirley Bond asking when the IRP would be back. “It will need legislative change” was the reply. Do you see a time frame in that answer? Neither do I, so I asked again, three times, and finally received exactly the same response.
This is not sufficient. If you feel as strongly as I do about this I urge you to contact your MLA and make your wishes known. We may save some lives.
For more information on this topic, visit www.drivesmartbc.ca. Questions or comments are welcome by e-mail to comments@drivesmartbc.ca. Tim Schewe is a retired RCMP constable with many years of traffic law enforcement experience. His column appears Friday.
