Fewer fatal collisions if blood alcohol levels lowered in Quebec: SQ

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) has come out in favour of reducing the blood alcohol content (BAC) while driving from 0.08 to 0.05 – saying it could result in 10 to 14 fewer deaths per year on the road.

This comes after the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) and the coroners said they were already on board for the change.

The Canadian Press learned this information from documents obtained under the Access to Information Act.

The Legault government has always refused to impose administrative sanctions on drivers with a BAC between 0.05 and 0.08, but the CAQ seems to be the only one opposed to the idea, said the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), which is crusading the issue.

The confidential documents from the SQ show that Quebec would improve its road safety record if it lowered the legal level from 80 mg of alcohol/100 ml of blood to 50 mg of alcohol/100 ml of blood, like all the other provinces.

According to the SQ projections based on results obtained in Alberta and British Columbia, Quebec could see 10 to 14 fewer fatal collisions per year, including four to six on the SQ territory.

If the same projections were carried out based on the results in Ontario, there would be five fewer fatal collisions on Quebec roads.

However, the recommendations are redacted in the three documents obtained.

This redaction is “appalling,” said Liberal MNA Monsef Derraji in an interview with The Canadian Press on Thursday.

“The minister (of public security, responsible for the SQ) François Bonnardel must break his silence, is he also going to bury his head in the sand and leave the document redacted?”

The 2022 and 2023 reports are partially redacted, but the 2024 report is almost entirely redacted for the most part.  

The Liberal MNA for Nelligan noted that Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault, had not made the SAAQ’s opinion public, which considered that administrative sanctions for blood alcohol levels between 0.05 and 0.08 were a “positive measure.”

She said she had not read this notice.

Also, a report by coroner Yvon Garneau had already recommended in 2021 to study the feasibility of this measure, but three other coroner’s reports concerning the deaths of three road users go even further. They clearly recommend lowering the limit to 0.05.

According to Derraji, more road deaths should not be tolerated, and a law must be adopted at the beginning of next year to impose administrative sanctions starting at 0.05. 

The Liberal MNA already tabled a bill to this effect, but the CAQ government has not called it for consideration, as is usually the case for opposition bills. 

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews