MADD Canada CEO says more effort needed to cut rising impaired driving stats in N.S.

By CityNews Halifax Staff

Frustration is growing for the head of MADD Canada as recent figures show the number of impaired drivers in the province is going in the wrong direction.

According to Nova Scotia RCMP statistics, 830 impaired driving charges were laid last year in the province.

Those numbers are a jump up from 802 in 2022, and up from 770 in 2021.

MADD Canada’s CEO Steve Sullivan says given what we know about the risks of driving impaired, that upward trend is disturbing.

He tells CityNews Halifax that continued education and enforcement needs to be stepped up.

“The penalty doesn’t have as much of an impact as people think,” he says. “What really changes people’s behaviour is their perception about getting caught.”

Sullivan says an increase of proactive law enforcement and training for officers as well as heightened public awareness about those measures will lead to a change in people’s behaviour.

He says if we want less impaired drivers on road in the province, those measures will be a key component.