Road Rules

The holiday season is fast approaching which, for three reasons—eggnog, mulled wine and “a wee drop”—brings to mind the law of impaired driving. In a previous article we discussed why drinking and driving don’t mix. In this article, we will summarize briefly the related criminal offences enacted by Parliament to deter and penalize impaired driving. “Summarize briefly” is an important qualification. Whole sections of law libraries are dedicated to housing resources on this vast area of law.

A recent Statistics Canada report cited Vancouver as having one of the lowest rates of impaired driving charges—second only to Hamilton, Ontario— among major Canadian Cities. The same report also noted that the rate of alcohol-related accidents causing fatalities has decreased by half since 1986. This is good news but, sadly, not good enough. Impaired driving is still one of the major causes of crashes in BC killing over 100 people annually and injuring thousands more. Of all traffic deaths in BC, 30% involve impaired driving; 25% of provincial court trial time is taken up with impaired driving cases. The “season to be jolly,”—the season of eggnog, mulled wine, and “just a wee drop for the occasion”— is one of the best times to review the law of impaired driving in Canada. 

Honking horns more so than silver bells, alas, herald “Christmas time in the city.” An estimated 20% of car crash claims are based on accidents in shopping mall parking lots. The holiday season is an important contributor to this statistic. The causes are obvious: too many cars, too many preoccupied drivers, too few parking spaces, and unpredictable vehicular and pedestrian traffic patterns. And the weather may be a culprit, greasing road surfaces and reducing visibility. As if safe-driving concerns weren’t enough to contend with, it’s also a prime season for auto theft, which occurs with greater frequency where large groups of cars are parked together for extended periods. Safety, courtesy, personal and property protection—all of these are concerns in mall parking lots whether above or underground. Here are some tips:

Parking can be nightmarish in the “most wonderful” shopping season of the year: finding a spot, shoehorning into it, paying a king’s ransom for it, getting back on time and then getting out of it. Navigation, detection, diplomacy, time and money management, wheel-handling—parking takes skill. Curbside parking is particularly challenging. 

In previous articles about drivers and pedestrians sharing the roads, we wrote about what would seem to be the riskiest activity, pedestrians crossing at intersections, in designated pedestrian crosswalks and jaywalking. If this year is any indicator, however, pedestrians just walking along the road or the sidewalk may be at greatest risk. Local, national and international reports of pedestrians being killed or injured walking along a road, sidewalk, bridge walk, pedestrian mall or lawfully in a crosswalk (two small children injured while walking behind their mother) have been appalling and saddening. Reviewing these tragedies may teach us something.