Transportation Minister Robert Vessey says Prince Edward Island needs a “made-in-P.E.I. solution” for the problem of impaired driving.
Vessey’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal will be bringing together local leaders and decision-makers to develop ways to help combat impaired driving on Island roads.
“Impaired driving happens far too often on our roads and needlessly puts Islanders’ lives at risk,” said the minister.
The one-day summit will be held Feb. 13 in Charlottetown and include representatives of the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, RCMP, municipal police forces, MADD Canada and local chapters, Addiction Services, and the Department of Environment, Labour and Justice.
Vessey said the summit will focus on tangible, effective solutions that can be implemented by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal to reduce instances of impaired driving and keep impaired drivers off Island roads.
The summit follows changes made in the fall to the Highway Traffic Act to stiffen penalties for impaired drivers. These changes, which will be proclaimed into law in the coming days, include mandatory participation in the ignition inter-lock program for all convicted impaired drivers and tougher vehicle impoundment penalties.
Vessey says the changes make P.E.I.’s legislation among the most progressive in the country.
“As minister responsible for highway safety, I recognize our good work can’t stop here. We must continue to do more to stop people from driving after drinking or taking drugs. This will best be achieved when we work together with all partners, and I look forward to hearing the ideas that will be shared at the summit.”
Well, I guess you are correct, so that's that, then. While I am at it, I will not worry about getting killed by a drunk driver, since I will probably die some other way. In fact, as long as we are mortal, we will die, so lets not worry about healthcare either.