To mark National Road Safety Week, which is being held this year from May 15 to 21, 2018, the Canada Safety Council wants to emphasize the importance of not being impaired behind the wheel.
According to Statistics Canada, 72,039 impaired driving incidents were reported by police in 2015.
The rate of these incidents (201 incidents per 100,000 population) is at its lowest since data on this subject began to be collected in 1986.
However, almost 3,000 of those incidents were drug-related, a figure which is double the amount from 2009, when drug-impaired data first started being collected.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two most commonly detected substances in drivers who die in traffic crashes in Canada are alcohol and cannabis, respectively.
It is also important to note that alcohol and cannabis can have an increasing effect, meaning that a driver who has consumed both alcohol and cannabis will be significantly more impaired than someone who has consumed one or the other.
Here are some tips to remember:
If you’re not sure if you’re impaired, don’t get behind the wheel.
There is never a good time or reason to drive while impaired.
There are many alternatives to driving impaired.
Plan ahead; ensure you have a designated driver, call a taxi if you can, or stay where you are and sleep off the impairment.