Impaired Driving
Impaired Driving
Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs is illegal, dangerous and can be life altering. It is a criminal offence to drive, or have care or control of a vehicle while your ability to drive is impaired by alcohol or drugs. Most of us understand this, however impaired driving continues to be one of the leading criminal causes of death in Canada.
Though progress has been made to deter impaired driving in PEI over the past decades, it remains a significant public safety concern in our province.
Impaired Driving in PEI - Statistics
Despite having the toughest and most comprehensive impaired driving rules in Canada, in 2019 PEI had one of the highest rate of police reported impaired driving incidents in Canada.
For further information on recent impaired driving statistics for PEI and Canada see Impaired Driving in Canada, 2019 - Statistics Canada report.
Penalties for Impaired Driving in PEI
Impaired driving laws in Prince Edward Island are both federal and provincial legislation. PEI’s impaired driving legislation and Court sentencing ranks among the toughest in Canada for severity.
Penalties and Consequences for Impaired Driving in PEI
Alcohol + Driving DO NOT MIX
We all know that we shouldn’t consume alcohol before driving, but have you ever stopped to think about how it affects your body and ultimately how you react behind the wheel?
How Alcohol Affects your Driving
Canada's Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines outline best practices for setting drink limits and when not to drink alcohol. The brochure provides tips for safer drinking and defines a standard drink.
Drugs + Driving DO NOT MIX
Historically, when talking about impaired driving, most individuals first think alcohol impairment. However, driving impaired by drugs has been shown to be a major contributor to serious crashes.
Rules on Driving and Cannabis in PEI
Public Safety Canada Report to Inform Trends and Patterns in Drug-Impaired Driving (Dec. 2020)
Alcohol + Drugs + Driving DO NOT MIX
The above sections demonstrate the devastating effects of consuming alcohol or cannabis before driving. By combining both alcohol and drugs before getting behind the wheel, a driver’s performance is even further compromised.
How Combining Drugs and Alcohol Affects Driving
Additional Resources
Royal Canadian Mounted Police - Impaired Driving. Here you will find information on how RCMP conduct impaired driving investigations, personal stories of how RCMP officers have been impacted by impaired driving, how police detect drug impaired driving and more.
MADD Canada works to stop impaired driving and to support victims. Their website offers valuable information on impaired driving and efforts to combat it across Canada.
The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction interactive website Take the High Way Home? allows you to make virtual choices about impaired driving without actually putting your life at risk.