UNDER THE INFLUENCE

There was a time when road checks turned up their share of drunk drivers.
But many of today's drivers are turning to drugs as a way to beat impaired
driving charges.

Const. Ross Beisel has been with Nanaimo RCMP's traffic division since 1998
and sees more drivers than ever under the influence of drugs.

"Their pupils are dilated and the whites of their eyes are all pink," he
says. "Take one sniff inside the car and you can tell what they've been doing."

Beisel is one of the RCMP's drug recognition experts and while it may not
take an expert to realize someone has been smoking pot, getting that person
convicted for impaired driving does.

"We start putting them through the sobriety test and they perform about the
same as a person over the legal limit on alcohol," says Beisel.

"As a result, a lot of them get 24-hour suspensions."

More are being convicted for impaired driving too.

Sobriety tests involve a 12-step procedure standardized by the California
Highway Patrol.

"We can tell from the physical symptoms, the divided attention tests and
coordination - we take that full examination, which takes about 45 minutes
- - and we can determine with very good accuracy what category of drug
they're on and whether or not they're able to drive a vehicle.

Beisel has discovered drivers impaired by cocaine, heroin, prescription
drugs and combinations of those with alcohol.

He says a high percentage of cases are teenagers because of the rigid
alcohol restrictions placed on new drivers.

"When I first started in the traffic section we'd get the odd kid smoking
pot," says Beisel.

"A lot of times that would be combined with a little bit of beer or alcohol
they'd been drinking in the car. They'd get their 24-hour suspension and
off they'd go, but that was usually one every three or four months. Now
we're finding one every three or four weeks."

At some roadblocks recently, police found three or more drivers suspected
of smoking marijuana a night because the physical symptoms of the drug
remained visible even though its narcotic effects had worn off.

"If they drive within a short period of time after having smoked up, their
coordination and attention span - their ability to divide their attention
between a number of tasks - is the same as someone who has had six or seven
beer," he says.

And chances of a conviction are high for anyone who is caught driving in
that condition which can lead to driving prohibitions for a year or more
plus fines and other consequences depending on the circumstances involved
in the offense, such as whether the driver caused an accident, property
damage, injuries or death.

"Impaired driving is impaired driving in the Criminal Code and the penalty
is basically the same," he says.