Canadian Road Safety News Digest

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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November 28, 2016

Driverless cars to hit the road in Ontario early next year

Toronto Star (TORONTO, ONTARIO) Driverless cars are headed for Ontario’s public roads as part of a pilot project the province says puts it in the pole position in Canada’s development of autonomous vehicle technology. After motoring up a test track to a Waterloo press briefing Monday in a self-propelled Lincoln MKZ hybrid sedan nicknamed the […]

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November 14, 2016

Marijuana legalization and road safety: CAA-Quebec issues recommendations

Canada Newswire (QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC) Less than one year from the deadline established by the federal government as part of its plan to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, CAA‑Quebec is endorsing the recommendations made by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) in its study Marijuana & Driving: Policy Implications: we must further our knowledge and […]

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November 6, 2016

Calgary a paragon of pedestrian safety, but that’s not enough for some

Calgary Sun (CALGARY, ALBERTA) There’s no safer Canadian city than Calgary, when it comes to traffic. That’s the good news from a city hall that’s struggled to embrace that simple fact in the very recent past, while allowing a false narrative of mass pedestrian mayhem to dominate decision making and influence spending. Continue reading this […]

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September 30, 2016

Transport Canada’s actions to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians on Canada’s roadways

Transport Canada (OTTAWA, ONTARIO) Transport Canada is always looking at ways to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety. The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, recently announced that Transport Canada and the provinces and territories will establish a new task force to discuss safety measures to reduce injuries and fatalities involving cyclists, pedestrians and heavy trucks. […]

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September 29, 2016

Many Canadians see self-driving cars as a licence to behave badly: survey

The Globe and Mail (TORONTO, ONTARIO) The image of drivers texting, dozing or sipping a martini while they sit at the wheel and let their autonomous vehicles do all the work prevails among a significant number of Canadians. That’s a troubling finding from a survey of Canadians about self-driving vehicles by the Traffic Injury Research […]

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September 28, 2016

Transport ministers won’t commit to criminalizing distracted driving

Global News (TORONTO, ONTARIO) Transport ministers from across Canada seemed to have mixed feelings about the criminalization of distracted driving on Wednesday as they met in Toronto. Quebec’s transport minister, Laurent Lessard, asked Ottawa to consider criminalizing distracted driving last month. Global News used this week’s meeting to ask all Lessard’s provincial counterparts if they would be on board with that. […]

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August 30, 2016

Distracted driving deaths on track to double impaired driving fatalities: OPP

Global News (TORONTO, ONTARIO) As officers prepare for a busy Labour Day weekend on the roads, the Ontario Provincial Police said distracted driving-related deaths are on track to double the number of impaired driving-related fatalities this year. The OPP said officers have investigated 38 road deaths as of mid-August where the driver was found to […]

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