Today BC becomes a land of sober drivers. Seriously, with the harsh penalties beginning today, you need to be a millionaire to risk driving drunk or even buzzed! I’m not saying it’s acceptable by any means to drive drunk but it’s just a tad dumber to do so now. The penalties range depending on how drunk you are caught to be.
- Warning range 0.05-0.08 (1-4 drinks): 3-day ban + $200 fine… additional fees make total $600
- Greater than 0.08 (2-5 drinks): 90-day ban + 30-day car impound + $500 fine + possible criminal charge… additional fees of towing, interlock ignition device, responsible driver program, etc make total up to $4,060
(Escalating penalties for repeat offences)
This is ridiculous and I’ll tell you why. We don’t have the greatest public transportation system. Buses are almost nonexistent at night and skytrain freakin closes at 1am. Vancouver residents will need to take a cab while suburbanites are totally screwed. All can be well, however, if there’s a designated driver.
The people affected negatively will be the drivers, liquor stores and nightspots from lower liquor sales. Beneficiaries will be the police coffers, people’s lives, the cab business and Translink.
In the end I’m all for harsh penalties for drunk driving but the range is so narrow and the fines are huge. What are your thoughts on our new drunk driving laws.
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