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New impaired driving laws causing confusion

Province did not provide bars and restaurants with any information to share with customers
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Since Sept. 20, the Province of B.C. has had the toughest impaired driving laws in the country, with automatic driving prohibitions and fines kicking in for drivers with blood alcohol content (BAC) over 0.05.

The result, say some, is a decline in business for restaurants and bars as people forgo liquor purchases with meals. Customers are telling staff that they are afraid that even one drink could put them over 0.05 per cent BAC, which at minimum would result in a three-day driving prohibition and roughly $600 in charges for a first offence.

The problem, says Lawrence Black - the owner and operator of Black's Pub and Restaurant - is that people aren't really sure what the new laws mean while the previous limit of 0.08 per cent was generally well understood.

"Everywhere I go people are asking me, 'what can I do? Is one drink really going to put me over the limit?'" he said.

"The province has not done a good job when it comes to clarity."

Black says his customers are acutely aware of the new laws and are forgoing drinks with dinner or skipping the traditional beer after work. "It's not really well understood, and people are being cautious," he said.

He says there has been no communication from the province with bar and restaurant owners since the new laws came into effect, and they haven't been provided with any information on the new laws that they can share with their customers.

David Branigan, the manager of Black's Pub, says the restaurant and pub businesses will be the most impacted by the new rules.

"People who go to the nightclubs are all over the cabs and buses already, so where this is going to have the most impact is for pubs and restaurants, and all the people that are out but not having a big night," he said. "They might have a drink after work, or a couple of drinks with a three-course dinner, and that's it. Now, they're questioning whether the risk is worth it."

Their concern is that people will stay home out of the fear of being caught under the new laws, and that the public confusion could be devastating to Whistler's tourism and hospitality industry.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), an advocacy group that lobbied for the new laws, said at the time the law came into effect their intention was not to stop all social drinking. In a press release, MADD shared their own findings on the subject:

"When the changes were first announced in April (2010) some concerns were raised that the laws would penalize the social drinker who would no longer be able to enjoy a beer after work or a glass of wine with dinner for fear of reaching the 0.05 per cent BAC level. However, a 0.05 per cent BAC limit will not interfere with what most Canadians would consider to be social drinking."

According to MADD estimates in relation to time, weight and standard drinks, a 185-pound male can have three drinks over a two-hour period and not go over the 0.05 per cent limit. Similarly a 130-pound woman can have two standard drinks over two hours and not go over.

All drinks are not equal, but for general reference one standard bottle of beer is roughly equivalent to a five ounce glass of wine or a shot of spirits.

But while MADD says some social drinking may be okay, the advice of the local RCMP is not to drink and drive under any circumstances.

"Through our ongoing discussions with the public and with members, we know there is concern out there about the new limits," said Sergeant Shawn LeMay of the Whistler RCMP. "The simple answer for people is don't drink and drive - we know that even one drink impairs judgment and reaction times."

He says that people should always consider alternative ways of travelling if they are going to be consuming alcohol.

"Some people are being told it's okay if you have one drink, but the reality is that one drink for one person is different than it is for another... there are so many factors that can have an effect on you (in addition to your size and weight). Are you tired? On medication? When was your last meal? Are you stressed out? It also depends on when you have the drink, how fast you drank it, whether you had a meal with it - all those sorts of things. The safest action is not to drink and drive, and to consider a safer way to get home."

With all the different takes on the new law, Black and Branigan say they will bring the issue to the next meeting of the Restaurant Association of Whistler to look at ways that the resort can collectively address the confusion. They would support the idea of a poster or information card to inform customers about the laws with accurate information, providing it met with the approval of the RCMP.

Chris Quinlan, the president of the organization, says the issue will be on the agenda for their next meeting.

"Going back to the associations' point of view, we probably will ask for some definition on (the laws), and whether there's an opportunity to put something out there for establishments and their customers," he said.

However, Quinlan says it's a tricky topic, as likely nobody will go on record and say it's OK to drink a certain amount and drive because of the liability issues that creates - and because no definition fits everyone.

"If you have a beer and you're 200 pounds like I am, then you're probably going to be okay. But if my neighbour has one, she's a lot smaller and she's probably not OK," said Quinlan.

Some bars and restaurants in the Lower Mainland are taking matters into their own hands and purchasing screening devices for customers - although one lawyer told CBC that it would create new liability issues. Blood alcohol content can go up significantly after a test as alcohol is absorbed into a person's system.

Black and Branigan said they looked at the breathalyzer option as well, but have concerns with the way that customers might interpret the results as well as liability issues.

Between the economy, the Harmonized Sales Tax, pay parking and the new liquor laws, Black says hospitality businesses are feeling the pinch these days. While they support programs to get impaired drivers off the road they wonder what the cumulative impact on all these things might be on their business.

Joey Gibbons of the Gibbons Hospitality Group says it's too early to tell whether the new laws have had an impact on business. But he says one change - the addition of pay parking - has had a definite impact in keeping customers away from the village. He says lunch business at Tapley's Pub - one of the establishments his company manages - dropped in half once pay parking came into effect and construction workers stopped driving into the village to eat.

The parking issue ties into the impaired driving issue as well, he says.

"Before (pay parking) you might have had a situation where someone would come to the village after work and have a few beers, and maybe they would make the decision to leave their car overnight," he said. "Now you can't leave your car overnight in the village, so people aren't coming into the village like they used to. It's these kinds of things that are making it harder and harder to do business."

André St-Jacques, the owner of the Bearfoot Bistro, says he expects that things will calm down.

"I think it's the same kind of idea when they introduced the smoking ban," he said. "People were somewhat concerned at the time that it would hurt their business, but once the idea got out that you couldn't smoke anywhere then people got used to it."

St-Jacques says that he's in favour of anything that discourages drinking and driving, and believes his customers - which come to the Bearfoot Bistro for its lounge and its wine selection - will adjust their habits and travel by cab instead.

"If I have a glass of wine when I finish work, then I call a cab - I don't try to figure out if I'm under the limit or not. All the cab drivers in town know my name quite well at this point," he said. "I just think that's wisdom."

They do have valet parking at the restaurant, but St-Jacques says his waitstaff monitor customers. If there is a question of a customer driving home after too much to drink, he says a staff member will usually drive them home in their own vehicle and call a cab to get back to the restaurant.

St-Jacques acknowledges that the new laws may affect business at establishments that cater to the after-work crowd, but hopes that customers will adjust their habits and take cabs when possible. He also believes there could be an upside to the new law once people become used to it - when people leave their vehicles at home people might drink more, he said.

"If you drink don't drive - that's it. That's the whole message," he said.

The B.C. Restaurant and Food Service Association does not have any specific advice for members to inform customers, but are urging members to head off the liability issue by ensuring that staff are certified and up to date with the Serving It Right program to head off any liability issues resulting from lowering the limit to 0.05 per cent.

In the past, drivers who were tested between 0.05 and 0.08 per cent blood alcohol content were given a 24-hour driving suspension, and might have been on the hook for a tow. Now, a first offence comes with a $200 fine, a three-day driving prohibition and a $225 charge to reinstate your drivers' licence. All told, a first offence is expected to cost in the neighbourhood of $600.

For drivers over 0.08, the new law results in an automatic 90-day driving prohibition, a mandatory 30-day impound, a fine of $500, a $225 charge to reinstate your licence, the required installation of an in-car breathalyzer that's hooked up to the ignition, and enrolment in a safe driving course - a total cost estimated at $3,750.