DRUNK DRIVERS EASIER TO NAB THAN DRUGGIES

Police More Likely To Pursue Proveable Booze Cases

Some motorists hoping to elude fines, jail and vehicle seizures for
drunk driving are switching to less-detectable drugs, delegates to a
provincial conference were told yesterday.

Police often pursue more proveable booze cases since courts are still
struggling to understand the many and varied effects of drugs, Ottawa
researcher Robyn Robertson said.

In the U.S., where the president and CEO of the Traffic Injury
Research Foundation said most of her studies originate, "few drug
driving charges go to court."

In Canada, evidence from Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) "is not yet
accepted by the courts," Robertson told 150 Ontario Community Council
on Impaired Driving delegates.

To reduce the risk of drug-using drivers, Crown prosecutors and judges
must be trained, she said.

Police can report drug levels they detect "but it needs experts to
interpret the effects," Robertson said.

As a result, she said, pot and pill users have a better chance of
avoiding prosecution.

"It is new ground," Robertson said in an interview. "There are a lot
of gaps in our understanding,"

She said about 10% of North Americans drive after using illegal or
prescription drugs -- some not knowing the dangers, including 500,000
marijuana-users.

Compared to more than 50 years of drunk driving research, standard
tests and court convictions, Robertson said, less is known about
symptoms and affects of other substances.

"There has been a little research and a lot of anecdotal evidence,
especially with younger drivers, of a propensity to switch to drugs,"
she said.

James Palangio, a counsel with the attorney-general's Crown law
office, said a recent federal law targeting impaired driving allows
prosecution of a suspect who refuses police demands for the blood
tests needed for detecting drugs.

Sgt. Tim Kuttschrutter, a York Regional Police drug recognition
expert, said officers can also look for needle marks, pulse rates,
blood pressure levels, pupil dilation, plus muscle tone and collect
saliva and blood for toxicology tests.

OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino told delegates stiffer fines, jail
time, vehicle seizures and constant patrols by "committed" officers
have helped reduce bad driving. He said deaths on OPP-patrolled
highways are down 30.9% from last year, to 264 victims, with 36% fewer
alcohol-related road fatalities.

But referring to four third-time impaired drivers arrested this year
and 42 a second time, Fantino said, "some people are slow learners."

Promising even tougher enforcement on impaired drivers in future
months -- including increased permanent seizure of vehicles, Ontario
Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said society must realize the
costs, including families and bodies "torn apart," plus some survivors
left with permanent physical and mental injuries.

Drunk drivers "are seven times more likely to be in a crash," he
said.

Delegates were told three vehicles were permanently seized from two
veteran Ontario drunk drivers this summer as the result of a new
government initiative.

They were forfeited after civil court judges agreed the owners would
not stay off the roads, said Jeff Simser, legal director of the
attorney-general's civil remedies for illicit activities department.