New law aims to change culture of drunk driving

REGINA — A Saskatchewan man whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver says new, tougher laws coming into force could reduce the number of impaired driving incidents.

Allan Kerpan’s 25-year-old daughter, Danille, was killed on the Thanksgiving weekend in 2014 when a truck going the wrong way collided with her vehicle on Highway 11 near Bladworth, between Regina and Saskatoon.

Kerpan says provincial legislation that kicks in Jan. 1 could be game-changing.

“I guess I’m hopeful, maybe I’m hopeful more than I should be because it’s touched our family so deeply and personally,” said Kerpan.

The changes include a three-day vehicle seizure for drivers who are caught for the first time with a blood alcohol content between .04 and .08.

The new law also extends mandatory ignition interlock for repeat drunk drivers and applies it to those who refuse to provide a breath sample.

“It’s a bit of a shame factor, you know, with this three-day vehicle impoundment. If someone comes home and they’ve lost the car for three days, I mean that goes a long way, I think, in terms of getting people to start really thinking about it,” said Kerpan.

Kerpan said the problem tends to be worse in rural Saskatchewan, where it’s still socially acceptable to drink and drive.

He noticed it himself at a recent Christmas event where people were drinking and planned to drive home.

“They know what happened to our family. They’re our friends. They’re not bad people. They just have this mindset that ‘I’m only going a couple of miles, it’s OK,”’ he said.

“You know, until that changes, nothing will change, I’m afraid.”

Statistics Canada says Saskatchewan had the highest rate of police-reported impaired driving among all the provinces in 2015. There were 575 incidents per 100,000 people in Saskatchewan — nearly twice as high as Alberta’s 314 per 100,000, the province with the second-highest rate. The national rate was 201 incidents per 100,000.