Canadian Driving Disorders Coalition releases national action plan to reduce driving injury injuries and deaths, The Canadian Business Journal

OTTAWA, Nov. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In early 2022, TIRF will partner with Diageo North America to Canadian Driver’s Disability Coalition (IDCC) to create a national action plan aimed at preventing driving with disabilities. IDCC combines the knowledge and expertise of its various member organizations, as well as innovative educational resources, to guide the development of national action plans, including prevention priorities. An important goal of IDCC is to raise public awareness and make drivers aware of the risks associated with driving after drinking alcohol.

Cross-sector partners working with TIRF and Diageo at IDCC include Desjardins, Safer Roads Alliance, Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), Toronto Police Service, Ottawa Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, North Bay Police Service and Victoria. Includes Police Department (VicPD). , Manitoba Public Insurance, Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), Windsor Regional Hospital, Ford Canada, Private Motor Truck Council, Canadian Wireless & Telecommunications Association, Spirits Canada, Canada Safety Council, Beer Canada, Arrival DRIVE SOBER, Alcohol Countermeasures Systems, CARSP Young Lead Use Advisor for the Professionals Committee, Ontario Injury Prevention Professional Network, and TIRF.

“Over the past 20 years, the number of Canadians who have died in drunken driving crashes has generally declined,” said TIRF President and CEO Robyn Robertson. “But in 2019, 470 people still died in accidents where at least one driver was intoxicated. Self-reported data suggests the numbers are skewed in the wrong direction.”¹

Although the percentage of drivers who self-reported to drive within two hours of drinking alcohol has declined since 2009, the percentage of drivers who admit to drinking before driving has increased over the past three years. Even more concerning, the percentage of drivers who self-reported driving when they thought they exceeded the legal limit in the last 12 months has increased since 2018, to about 10 in 2021. One (9.7%) driver reported driving.²

“IDCC’s National Action Plan is designed to help people understand risks based on the latest data and risk research, and to customize messages for different audiences and ages. It’s about using tools to raise awareness, leverage resources from our partners, and empower people to have a say in safe choices,” says Robertson. Additionally, IDCC explores opportunities to enrich and share data, as well as the benefits of new technologies. ”

Top priorities included in the IDCC National Action include:

• We are working with some hospitals, trauma centers, and police services to demonstrate how communities can create an up-to-date picture of driving disorders using local data sources.
• Create customized, targeted educational messages about risks for specific audiences.
• Create tools to help communities establish fatal crash review boards to raise public awareness of local driving disorders and inform prevention strategies.
• Investigate implementation issues, benefits, and limitations related to impaired driving skills.

Tools to support educational activities are under development, with an anticipated release in early 2023. This includes steps the community can take to establish a Fatal Collision Review Committee (FCRC) to better understand all fatal collisions within the community. The FCRC should consist of various key community partners, such as the coroner’s office, local police services, traffic engineers, and representatives from the local public health department. The FCRC’s goal is to make specific recommendations in terms of education, enforcement, and engineering to prevent fatal crashes from occurring.

Diageo in Society Director Anna Fitzgibbons said: “Enabling people to understand the risks of drunk driving through education and awareness is our priority.”

Diageo will complement other existing resources in the IDCC National Action Plan through its “Wrong Side of the Road” learning experience and educational resource www.DRINKiQ.com.

Additional educational tools leveraged include TIRF’s Sober Smart Driving website and resources from SGI, Ontario Department of Transportation, VicPD and CAA.

The IDCC National Action Plan can be downloaded from TIRF’s project page for this initiative: https://tirf.ca/projects/idcc

IDCC member quotes:

Pat Cliche, Chair of the Ontario Injury Prevention Professional Network: “We look forward to working with our expert members across Canada to develop a comprehensive national action plan to address the preventable problem of driving impairment. and create awareness and education to address the risks and consequences of impaired driving.The active participation of OIPPN at the state and local levels will help create meaningful changes to this unsafe behavior on our roads. You can make a difference.”

Deputy Superintendent Matt Moyer, Toronto Police Service, Transportation Service: “The Toronto Police Service is partnering with several external partnerships, including the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF), Arrive Alive Drive Sober, and GTA Police Services, to address the serious crimes of driving impairment. Disabled driving should not be tolerated on the roads, and there is no excuse for disabled driving when safer alternatives are ridesharing apps, taxi services and local transit. We will continue to foster these relationships and actively deter and prevent driving with disabilities.”

Kristine D’Arbelles, Senior Director of Public Affairs, Canadian Automobile Association: “For decades, the CAA has worked to raise awareness of the dangers of driving with disabilities,” said Kristine D’Arbelles, senior director of public affairs for CAA National. “This action plan is a positive step in finding solutions to keep our roads safer.”

About the Traffic Accident Research Foundation:
The Traffic Injury Research Foundation’s (TIRF) vision is to enable road users to get home safely every day by eliminating road deaths, serious injuries, and social costs. TIRF’s mission is to be a source of knowledge for safe road users and a world leader in research, program and policy development, evaluation, and knowledge transfer. TIRF is a registered charity and relies on grants, awards and donations to serve the public. Visit https://www.tirf.ca and connect with LinkedIn: Traffic Injury Research Foundation, Twitter: @TIRFCANADA / @DropItAndDrive, Instagram: @tirfcanada_diad.

About Diageo North America
Diageo is an alcoholic beverage company with an impressive collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Brite, Buchanan’s Whiskey, Smirnoff, Ciroc, Ketel One Vodka, Casamigos, Deleon, Don Julio Tequila, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness. A world leader. .

Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: DGE), and its products are sold in more than 180 countries worldwide.

For more information about Diageo, its people, brands and performance, please visit www.diageo.com. For information, initiatives and ways to share best practices, visit Diageo’s global responsible drinking resource at www.DRINKiQ.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.

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_{¹201 data9, Latest year for which data is available, TIRF National Mortality Database
²Source: TIRF, Traffic Safety Monitor 2021: drunk driving in canadaDecember 2021.}

For more information, please contact:

Karen Bowman	Luis Carlos (LC) Lavago
Director, Communications & Program	Society Communications Director
Traffic Accident Research Foundation	Diageo North America
613.238.5235 (Office)	Mobs: +1 (203) 690 0860
250.797.0833 (direct)	[email protected]
1.877.238.5235 (toll-free)
[email protected] / [email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a6c4015b-ce51-49af-9c65-c539a9a8f88a.

CBJ Newsmaker