‘We are hugely outnumbered’

Police think number of DUI charges ‘fraction’ of impaired drivers

Driving while impaired continues to be a problem on Cape Breton roads even though charges over the past five years have dropped in some areas.

The Cape Breton Post has discovered that, based on information provided to the RCMP and Cape Breton Regional Police Service (CBRPS), the number of people driving under the influence (DUI) charges has dropped in some areas since 2013 in seven of the eight districts, increasing in only one.

Eskasoni had 14 DUI charges in 2013 but only five in 2017, Richmond County had 12 in 2013, a peak of 42 in 2016 and then a drop to nine in 2017, Victoria County had 18 in 2013, peaked in 2014 with 34 charges and had 16 in 2017, and the 100 series of highways had 25 charges in 2013 with only seven in 2017, according to RCMP N.S. Traffic Services)

In the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, central division had 26 DUI charges in 2013, peaked at 107 in 2016 then dropped to 80 in 2017. East division reported 46 charges in 2013, peaked at 63 in 2015 and dropped to 33 in 2017.

North division is the only area on the island that had an increase of DUIs, 19 in 2013, 29 in 2015 and 39 in 2017.

However, neither RCMP nor CBRPS believe this indicates a decrease of impaired drivers on the road.

“Statistics are just that — numbers. I think it’s hard to tell what is happening on the roads from them … It is just a little fraction of the number of people driving impaired,” said Const. Chad Morrison, an RCMP drug recognition (DRE) co-ordinator/ trainer with N.S. Traffic Services.

Both Staff Sgt. Joe Farrell, who spent 10 years as the head of CBRP Traffic Services, and Staff Sgt. Gil Boone, who did DRE with CBRPS for four years, believe the number of impaired drivers has increased since they started on the force 25 years ago.

“Thirty to 40 years ago it was accepted behaviour (drinking and driving) … now it isn’t, and people are getting killed,” said Farrell, who is also on the MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Cape Breton board of directors.

Alcohol can affect your attention, something that is already divided when you are driving, explained Boone. Watching the road, listening to children in the back, changing the radio, making sure it is safe to change lanes, signaling to turn are all some of the things people need to do when driving.

“People, just in day-to-day life, have so many other things going on … mix that with alcohol and

it’s deadly,” he said.

This is why Morrison, Farrell and Boone believe everyone should report suspected impaired drivers, even if you know they are impaired because they were consuming alcohol at your home.

“We are hugely out-numbered when we are on the road … we do the best we can,” said Morrison.

“If someone is concerned enough to be calling us on that person (leaving their house), who might even be a family member, then that person is definitely a danger on the road.”

The fact is, according to the officers, that call might be saving someone’s life: a stranger, a family, the driver’s or even yours.

“The fact is this is a crime and it needs to be reported,” said Boone.

STOCK IMAGE Drinking and driving continues to be the leading cause of criminal death in Canada and one of the biggest challenges police have is finding impaired drivers while they are on the roads. Especially in rural areas, it can be hard for police to patrol due to the size of the area and the number of officers available. This is why both RCMP and Cape Breton Regional Police officers are urging people to report any suspected impaired drivers, for the safety of the driver and others.