Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Robert Vessey’s work on last winter’s Impaired Driving Summit and resulting legislation has earned him national recognition by MADD Canada, Premier Robert Ghiz said.
“Minister Vessey has shown strong leadership on the issue of impaired driving in Prince Edward Island,” the premier said. “He has worked diligently with law enforcement and community groups to change the laws, increase public awareness of the penalties, and make Island roads safer for all of us.”
MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Canada has chosen Minister Vessey to receive its Citizen of Distinction award, presented annually to an individual, group, or organization that has contributed significantly to the anti-drinking and driving movement in Canada. He received the award September 27 at MADD Canada’s National Leadership Conference in Toronto.
“MADD Canada is very thankful for Minister’s Vessey commitment to reducing impaired driving and improving road safety in Prince Edward Island,” said MADD Canada Chief Executive Officer Andrew Murie. “His efforts were directly responsible for a highly productive stakeholder summit on impaired driving that resulted in policies and strategies aimed at reducing impaired driving throughout the province.”
Held February 13, 2013 in Charlottetown, the Impaired Driving Summit brought Minister Vessey and Environment, Labour and Justice Minister Janice Sherry and their staffs together with law enforcement, MADD Canada and its regional representatives, the Crown Prosecutor’s Office, and an ad-hoc committee on impaired driving. It inspired:
• legislation requiring an ignition interlock device be installed on the vehicles of first-time impaired-driving offenders for one year, and increasing its mandatory use to three years for second-time offenders and five years for third-time offenders;
• provisions taking away the vehicles of impaired-driving offenders for longer periods of time, such as a six-month impoundment for an offense causing bodily harm that previously carried an impoundment of 60 days;
• new sanctions aimed specifically at drug-impaired drivers, including a seven-day (non-graduated) driver licence suspension for failing or refusing the roadside physical coordination test, a 90-day suspension for all drivers charged under the Criminal Code of Canada, and a 90-day suspension for graduated drivers who refuse or fail the physical coordination test;
• an exploration of the use of a special licence plate number sequence that would identify repeat impaired-driving offenders to police; and
• the extension of a “Call 9-1-1” campaign to encourage the public to report impaired drivers.
“It is gratifying that we have been recognized by MADD Canada for the steps we have taken to make our highways safer by combating impaired driving,” Minister Vessey said. “If anyone hasn’t heard that impaired driving is unacceptable on Prince Edward Island, hopefully we are making that message perfectly clear.”