Canadian Road Safety News Digest

December 29, 2017

Drunk driving to be largely decriminalized in Alberta in 2018

CBC News (EDMONTON, ALBERTA) Changes are coming to the way drunk drivers are policed and prosecuted in Alberta with the provincial government set to issue a directive to police that will largely decriminalize impaired driving, CBC News has learned. Officers will be given wide discretion whether to criminally charge those who blow over the legal limit. […]

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December 20, 2017

Transport Canada makes two electronic devices mandatory for trucks and buses

December 20, 2017, Insurance Business Magazine (OTTAWA, ONTARIO) Transport Canada has passed new regulations that require commercial trucks and buses to have two electronic safety devices installed. The new regulations require electronic stability control technology on new truck tractors and heavy buses sold in Canada. Separate proposed regulations will implement mandatory electronic logging devices for […]

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October 31, 2017

Feds announce $36.4M public education campaign on legalized pot

CTV News (OTTAWA, ONTARIO) As plans to legalize marijuana move forward, the federal government is spending $36.4 million over the next five years on a marijuana education and awareness campaign. The campaign will aim to educate Canadians—youth in particular— about the health and safety risks of marijuana use, and drug-impaired driving, the government says. Continue […]

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October 25, 2017

Canadian Trucking Groups Call for Zero Tolerance as Marijuana Legalization Looms

Transport Topics (TORONTO, ONTARIO) Canadian trucking associations are calling for a zero-tolerance policy for marijuana use among drivers as the country prepares to legalize the drug for recreational purposes in July 2018. Continue reading this post…  

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August 28, 2017

Vision Zero campaign: How many road deaths are acceptable?

Montreal Gazette (MONTREAL, QUEBEC) Hoping to one day eliminate road deaths in the city, Montreal has launched a publicity campaign with a pointed question: what would be an acceptable number of road deaths in your family? In a vox-pop-type video ad, Montrealers are first asked how many road deaths would be acceptable, then asked how […]

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August 8, 2017

Lowering the (Canada-wide) legal alcohol limit to 0.05: Let’s not skip steps, CAA-Quebec warns

Newswire.ca (QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC) The federal government’s proposal to explore lowering the legal alcohol limit for drivers in a bid to improve road safety, as reported in the Montreal daily La Presse, is of course commendable. But with cannabis due to be legalized in less than a year, CAA-Quebec believes that now is not the […]

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June 24, 2017

Toronto picks road safety over speed, new poll finds

Cycle Toronto (TORONTO, ONTARIO) Eighty-one percent of Toronto residents support lower speed limits on city roads even if it means increased travel time, and 80 percent favour building a safe network of bicycle lanes, a new poll has found. The survey of 802 Torontonians, conducted by the Angus Reid Forum (owned by Maru/Matchbox), also shows […]

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June 20, 2017

Ian Mulgrew: Expanded B.C. roadside suspension policy expected to deal with drugged driving

Vancouver Sun (VANCOUVER, B.C.) Victoria is expected to amend the Immediate Roadside Prohibition scheme to include drug impairment or to create a similar anti-drug-driving program as the country legalizes marijuana next year. A broader IRP regime would prevent drug-impaired-driving charges from clogging the courts and continue the made-in-B.C. approach of treating some offences as “regulatory” […]

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April 21, 2017

Edmonton traffic safety improving, but a long road ahead: city

Global News (EDMONTON, ALBERTA) The goal of zero traffic deaths and injuries is ambitious, but on Friday the City of Edmonton said it is making inroads. Vision Zero is a strategy adopted by city council in 2015 and launched in 2016. The Vision Zero program first began in Sweden in 1997 and the city said that country now has […]

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April 13, 2017

Liberals table bills to legalize pot, clamp down on impaired driving

CBC News (OTTAWA, ONTARIO) The Liberal government has tabled legislation to end the prohibition on pot, checking off a major promise from the 2015 campaign. The pot plan comes with two new bills; one to regulate the recreational use, sale and cultivation of marijuana, and a second that strengthens measures to stop impaired driving. Continue reading […]

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March 20, 2017

Manitoba introduces Cannabis Harm Prevention Act

Government of Manitoba (WINNIPEG, MANITOBA) The Manitoba government is introducing new legislation that would be focused on harm reduction and public safety as part of its ongoing preparation for federal legalization of marijuana, Justice Minister Heather Stefanson announced today. “This legislation would be an early step by our government to target drug-impaired driving and prioritize […]

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March 15, 2017

Drug and Alcohol Roadside Survey confirms drug use by drivers: Manitoba Public Insurance

MPI (WINNIPEG, MANITOBA) One in 10 Manitoba drivers who participated in voluntary roadside surveys conducted last fall tested positive for drugs, according to findings released from the Manitoba Drug and Alcohol Roadside Survey, Crown Services Minister Ron Schuler and Manitoba Public Insurance announced today. The purpose of the study was to establish a baseline for […]

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March 1, 2017

Ottawa wants tougher national standard for distracted drivers using cellphones

TheStar.com (OTTAWA, ONTARIO) Transport Minister Marc Garneau is calling for the creation of a tough national standard to penalize distracted drivers using their cellphones on the road. Garneau said Wednesday that having consistent national rules with stiffer fines and demerit points could address the growing number of incidents. Continue reading this post…  

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February 28, 2017

No texting while crossing the street: Montreal proposes new law

Global News (MONTREAL, QUEBEC) The City of Montreal argued, at a public consultation on road safety Monday, that texting while crossing the street is dangerous. It is asking the province to make it illegal. Continue reading this post…

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Canadian Motorcycle Students Get Lifesaving Helmet Accessory

Canada Safety Council (OTTAWA, ONTARIO) The Canada Safety Council announced today that all participants at their Canada-wide motorcycle rider training programs will get a custom “Made in Ottawa” lifesaving Medical Data Carrier for their helmets. The Medical Data Carrier is a unique, bilingual, medical Information system that provides critical lifesaving data about the wearer as […]

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January 5, 2017

The ‘stiffest’ in Canada: A look at P.E.I.’s new impounding penalties for impaired driving

CBC News (CHARLOTTETOWN, PEI) Police on P.E.I. will soon have new powers to impound vehicles, powers designed to discourage impaired and dangerous driving. “To deal with offenders, who are multiple ones, who it doesn’t seem to matter whether there’s fines or a little bit of jail time or driver licence suspensions,” explained Graham Miner, director […]

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January 1, 2017

‘Ellen’s law’: Calls for road safety changes after death of star N.B. cyclist

CTV News (MONCTON, N.B.) Cyclists rallied in Moncton, N.B., Sunday to demand their government make it illegal for vehicles to come within one metre of bicyclists. Some of the roughly 100 demonstrators held up signs demanding “One Metre for Ellen” – a reference to Ellen Watters. Watters was a 28-year-old professional cyclist who died last month after […]

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December 20, 2016

‘Safety is job number one,’ says Toronto’s new transportation chief

Toronto Metro (TORONTO, ONTARIO) Toronto’s new transportation chief has a message for drivers: sharing is caring. In her first public appearance since arriving in the city nine days ago, Barbara Gray spoke Tuesday about the need for Toronto’s roadways to work for everyone – whether they’re behind a wheel or not. “If you own a […]

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December 14, 2016

Pilot project for new drug-impaired driving test to start soon

Global News (OTTAWA, ONTARIO) Drivers in some jurisdictions may soon find themselves asked by police to volunteer for a saliva test, part of a pilot project aimed at detecting drug-impaired drivers. The federal government, the RCMP and a number of police departments across the country will conduct the experiment to see how well certain roadside […]

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November 30, 2016

Zero expectations drive efforts to drastically reduce traffic-related deaths in Canada

Parachute (TORONTO, ONTARIO) Transport-related incidents remain one of the leading causes of injury and death in Canada. Parachute, a national injury prevention charity, wants to reduce these incidents to zero by adopting strategies first introduced in Sweden as Vision Zero. Canada’s Vision Zero Summit, powered by Parachute, brings together an outstanding line up of road […]

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