Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Restrictions on new drivers in Ontario

Edit: I was not aware that the 1 passenger limit only applies for the first year of a G2 license. For the full text of proposed changes, see here.

This blog has been neglected for the past while. However, I believe it's important to get the word out on an important issue.

Today, new legislation will be proposed in the Ontario parliament to increase the restrictions on young drivers. These new restrictions are
  • A zero-tolerance policy with regard to blood-alcohol content
  • A zero-tolerance policy for speeding
  • A limit of one (1) passenger under the age of 19 at any time
Now, let it be clear that I fully support zero-tolerance for drinking and driving. However the one passenger limit is unreasonable and may actually do more harm than good. Many young people rely on carpooling to get from point A to B, especially in suburbs and rural areas. Also, the practice of appointing a designated driver would not work nearly as well if there could only be one passenger per car. Finally, such a restriction would have a negative impact on the environment, since it would put more cars on the road.

The new proposed legislation is also flawed in that it came to be after an advertising campaign headed by the father of a 20 year old who was killed while driving impaired. It is understandable for a father, having lost his son, to push for laws that could have prevented death had they been in place. However, in this case, if the son in question had been obeying current laws, he probably would not have died. This shows that even with tougher regulations in place, those who are truly reckless would not obey the law and remain a threat to the rest of society. The people who will suffer the most under the new laws are the law-abiding drivers and their friends who will lose their means of transportation and be forced to spend extra money on gas and pollute the environment.

If you do not support the new Ontario legislation, pleas sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/ydont/petition.html.

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