Federal justice minister seeks to decrease blood/alcohol levels for drivers
Posted Aug 8, 2017 12:43:26 PM.
Last Updated Aug 8, 2017 12:45:54 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould is considering lowering the legal alcohol limit for licensed drivers.
Wilson-Raybould sent a letter to Quebec Justice Minister Stephanie Vallee in May in which she suggests lowering the limit to 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood from the current 80 milligrams.
The federal minister says the change would make it easier to fight drunk driving.
She says the current rules were established after research indicated the risk of being involved in a car crash was twice as likely when a driver has 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his or her system.
The minister writes that modern-day research suggests earlier data underestimated that risk.
Wilson-Raybould said in her letter to Vallee she was keen to hear her colleague’s thoughts on the proposed legislative change.
