More than one year after then-Transport Minister Julie Boulet recommended Quebec act to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers, current Transport Minister Sam Hamad has killed the plan.
Hamad made the announcement while tabling a list of changes to Bill 71 to modify the Highway Safety Code.
He said that evidence is lacking that dropping the legal blood-alcohol limit from 0.08 mg/100 ml of blood to 0.05 mg/100 ml will have any effect on road safety.
In February 2010 Mothers Against Drunk Driving noted that 20% of all drunk-driving deaths are caused by people who get behind the wheel with a blood-alcohol level between 0.05 and 0.08 mg/100 ml.
The report tabled in October, 2009, recommended a 24-hour suspension for any driver found to have a blood-alcohol level above 0.05 mg/100 ml, along with an immediate seizure of their vehicle.
Hamad did not say whether other measures initially proposed, including a zero-tolerance policy toward drivers age 21 and under, would still go forward.
However he did note that people found guilty of a third drunk-driving offence would not be allowed to own a vehicle unless it was equipped with an alcohol ignition lock.
With files from The Canadian Press
