Zero Tolerance Law Takes Effect For Young Drivers
Posted August 1, 2010 11:22 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Two young drivers have already been dealt 24-hour licence suspensions under Ontario’s tough new law governing drinking and driving for those under 21.
The pair could face fines of up to $500, but hadn’t drunk enough to warrant any further fines or legal action.
A 21-year old man was stopped just a few minutes past midnight. The second, a 22-year old man who only had a G2 licence. Consuming any alcohol with a G2 licence was already illegal.
“What we’re doing is teaching young drivers from a very young age that road safety is a priority and a responsibility that has to be shared by everybody,” said Toronto police Traffic Sgt. Tim Burrows.
The new zero-tolerance law makes it illegal for a driver 21 or under to consume any alcohol, regardless of their class of licence.
Any amount of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream will mean a seized licence for 24 hours.
A second offence could result in a suspension for 90 days. A third offence could mean losing the licence altogether.
All drivers in Ontario face at least a three-day licence suspension when their blood-alcohol level is more than 0.005.
If the BAC is more than 0.008, the matter becomes a criminal offence.
A similar law has existed in Manitoba for four years. The province has reported a significant decrease in the youth death rate there.
In the last 10 years in Ontario, 235 drivers 21 and under were killed in drunk driving crashes.
