Saskatchewan motorists are advised of impending adjustments to the Traffic Safety Act to ensure that drivers impaired by alcohol are quickly dealt with at the roadside and held accountable.

The province made the announcement late last month, which would include immediate administrative penalties for failing a roadside breath test, such as immediate driver's licence suspension, vehicle impoundment, a requirement for ignition interlock, impaired education courses, and safe driver recognition points. 

More efficient traffic safety 

Tim McLeod, Saskatchewan's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, said this would allow officers to act swiftly when a driver fails a roadside breath test.

"What we're going to be doing is going to allow officers to issue administrative penalties at the roadside, so that the penalties faced by a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or greater," he said. "I'd like to note that the administrative penalty option we're looking into would only be available in situations without aggravating circumstances,

"Having a child in the vehicle, property damage, or a fatality or injury, in those cases, the Criminal Code would be the only option available."

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Immediate administrative penalties for failing a roadside breath test could include immediate driver's licence suspension, vehicle impoundment, a requirement for ignition interlock, impaired education courses, and safe driver recognition points. 

New, immediate financial penalties would also apply, including a $1,000 fine and a 30 per cent victim surcharge for a first offence or a $2,000 fine and 30 per cent victim surcharge for a second and subsequent offence. 

A wider initiative 

"It's really important that people know that the primary goal of the government here is to get impaired drivers off the street faster, create safer communities and roads, and make sure the deterrent factor is sufficient enough to avoid repeat offenders," he added. "Saskatchewan currently has one of the highest impaired driving rates in Canada, and administrative penalties introduced in other jurisdictions have had great success in driving down impaired driving rates."

McLeod says following consultation, he expects to see legislation introduced this fall to amend the Traffic Safety Act to allow for such changes.