Ottawa, Ontario – The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) comes bearing the welcome news that drinking and driving is on the decline in Canada, according to a new study co-sponsored by Beer Canada and Desjardins.
The report concluded that “between 1996 and 2017, there was a 57 percent decrease in the number of Canadians who have died in road crashes involving a drinking driver.”
As well, in 2020, 7.5 percent of Canadians self-reported that they had driven even when they thought they were over the legal limit; down from 8.6 percent in 2019.
TIRF suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed significantly to the data collected for the report, directly affecting the usual social habits of Canadian drivers.
“The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the choice of drinking locations among Canadians. Results showed 29.9 percent of respondents reporting they most often consumed alcohol at their own home in 2020, which is a significant increase from the 21.9 percent of respondents who reported this in previous years,” said TIRF COO Ward Vanlaar.
“It remains to be seen whether this increase represents a general shift in behaviour or whether it is solely due to the pandemic.”
TIRF’s full report, entitled “Road Safety Monitor 2020: Drinking & Driving in Canada”, is available here.
