More people die in car crashes related to drunk-driving in Canada than in 19 other “high income” countries, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The centers analyzed 2013 data from the US, Belgium, Slovenia, New Zealand, Canada, Austria, France, Australia, Finland, Japan, Ireland, Germany, Norway, Spain, Israel, the Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, the UK and Sweden.
It found alcohol-impaired driving was a factor in 33.6% of fatal crashes in Canada, 10 times higher than the lowest ranking country, Israel, where deaths linked to drunk-driving was only 3.2%.
After Canada, the United States and New Zealand had the joint second highest percentage of deaths related to drunk-driving, at 31%.
However, there is some hope – of all the countries analyzed, Canada recorded only five crash deaths per 100,000 people.
Of course, that’s five too many, but spare a though for the US, where 10 in 100,000 people die in car crashes every year.
And even more hope – in all countries, fatal car crashes were down from 2000; in Canada, they had thankfully dropped by 42.9%.
Where to get help
If you have been affected by drunk-driving, you can get support through MADD Canada as follows:
- Online at madd.ca/pages/programs/victimsurvivor-services
- In Western Canada, call Gillian Phillips at 1-866-461-4077 or email her at [email protected]
- In Ontario, call Steve Sullivan at 1-866-876-5224 or email him at [email protected]
- In Quebec, call Marie Claude Morin at 1-877-392-6233 or email her at [email protected]
- In Atlantic Canada, call Gloria Appleby at 1-866-381-8310 or email her at [email protected]