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While the B.C. Liberal government's toughest impaired driving penalties have been ruled unconstitutional by a British Columbia Supreme Court Justice, it doesn't mean it's a free-for-all for those who choose to drink and then drive.
Justice Jon Sigurdson's decision doesn't come as a surprise because when the tough new rules were announced, the No. 1 complaint was they tromped all over our Canadian safeguard that "we are innocent until proven guilty."
Obviously, that was a primary concern for most British Columbians, and it only took a year to sift through the judicial system to correct the wrong.
While that was happening, however, lives were being saved. Forty-five fewer people died during the one-year period B.C. drivers were being scrutinized under the new tougher rules.
However, the law really only provided the impetus for changing the drinking-and-driving mindset of British Columbians.
Many of us who enjoyed a couple of drinks while socializing were scared spit-less about being caught in a roadblock because we didn't want to have our vehicles impounded and we didn't want to pay the big bucks to get our driver's licences and vehicles back.
That, dear readers, was, and is, not a bad thing to have in the back of our minds while travelling to and from social gatherings.
The real difference maker, however, was the amount of time it freed up for RCMP members to be out on the roads looking for impaired drivers.
Under the tougher rules, the Immediate Roadside Prohibition took RCMP members less than 30 minutes to get an impaired (over 0.08) driver off the road and, thereby, increase public safety on the highways and byways.
Now, such an infraction makes the members spend up to four hours on paperwork.
That's three to 3.5 hours they are not watching for impaired drivers and making the roads safer for our loved ones.
While all of this is working its way through ever-grinding wheels of justice, we can only hope that sense of caution has been ingrained in all of our minds.
Now, we know it's not so bad limiting our alcohol intake or being the designated driver who ensures everyone gets home safely, and it's a heck of a lot better than being involved in a fatal motor-vehicle incident.
