Short-Term Suspensions for Drinking and Driving in Canada

License suspension continues to be a primary sanction for impaired driving. The more expedient form of license removal, administrative license suspension (ALS), is remarkably popular in North America due to its relative swiftness and certainty. The most common form of ALS involves a 90-day suspension, which often has a brief period of grace and an appeal process.

The AAA Foundation commissioned the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of a specific form of ALS that is used in all provinces in Canada except Quebec: the Short-Term Suspensions (STS). Under a STS, if a driver has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) greater than 0.05%, police officers can suspend a driver's license immediately at the roadside, for up to 24 hours. These laws have been hailed as an effective means for immediately removing drivers from the road who are impaired by alcohol but have not consumed enough alcohol to warrant arrest under the Criminal Code of Canada. This study examined the general and specific deterrent effects of the STS, as well as the operational aspects of the law, to determine how the impact is being achieved. The results of this study will have direct implications for the development of policy concerning the most appropriate ways to deal with moderate-BAC drivers. Results will also contribute to our understanding of the general and specific deterrence effects of this type of countermeasure. The report will be released in Canada on March 28, 2007 and will be available online at www.aaafoundation.org that day.