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PEI May Adopt Special Licence Plates For Drunk Drivers
By:
Deutschmann Personal Injury & Disability Law (Lawyers)
| Published 11/25/2013
Prince Edward Island has one of the highest rates of impaired drivers in the country, and legislators and law enforcement officers are looking at new tools to get them off the highways. In 2011 a quarter of all criminal court cases in the province were the result of impaired driving charges. This is the highest proportion in Canada.
An astounding 40% of impaired drivers in PEI are repeat offenders. To attempt to help identify and combat the problem PEI Transportation Minister Robert Vessey is contemplating the controversial plan to issue specially designed plates to offenders who have had 3 previous impaired charges. The number letter sequence would be identifiable by law enforcement and be discreet. He claims the objective is not to shame the individual, but rather to help police do their job. Another controversial proposal is to allow police the authority to pull over drivers with special plates without other cause.
PEI hopes to have the legislation drafted by the spring. It will be interesting to see whether it passes and whether it reduces the rates of drunk driving. What are your thoughts?
