‘It’s a good thing’: Victim of drunk driving says controversial new laws are needed to curb deaths

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Controversial federal impaired driving laws are set to come into effect on Tuesday, allowing police to conduct random roadside breath tests.

While some lawyers are calling it unconstitutional, one victim of impaired driving says anything to make the roads safer is worth it.

Bob Rorison was left severely injured and trapped after his car was slammed into by a driver who had been drinking and doing drugs.

He later learned the other driver had purchased 24-hour car insurance before spending the night drinking and doing drugs. He needed to have his car home before midnight before the insurance expired and chose to get into his vehicle even after his wife begged him not to.

“He just drove through everything… he just plowed into me,” says Rorison. “His priority was getting his car home. Of course it never did get home, and I never got home, neither did my car.”

It happened while Rorison was still reeling from the loss of his wife to cancer and the death of his father by heart attack. The single father suffered through depression and was unable to work, eventually claiming bankruptcy.

“It was just the absolute worst part of my life,” he says. “It destroyed my previous life. I started a new life after that.”

He says there’s no excuse for drinking and driving, and is frustrated by the number of people who still choose to get behind the wheel impaired. According to RoadSafetyBC, impairment was a factor in 70 vehicle collisions last year.

Last time impaired driving laws were tightened in B.C., the numbers did improve. There were 127 deaths linked to impairment on the roads in 2010. The current five year average is down to 68.

Related video: New impaired driving laws

Until December 18th, 2018 police must have reasonable suspicion that a person has been drinking before demanding a roadside breathalyzer test. Those grounds can be formed based on the smell of alcohol on a person’s breath, the presence of alcohol in the vehicle or dangerous driving.

But after Tuesday, police will be able to randomly test anyone they want, without any previous suspicion of impairment. Vancouver-based lawyer Paul Dorochenko has criticized the law saying it will be challenged in the courts and proven as unconstitutional.

He has been warning former clients with impaired driving records or allegations against them that police may target them for random testing and that they must comply or face charges.

But Rorison believes there is a need for stricter laws, increased police powers and enforcement to keep people safe.

“I’m shocked and dismayed,” he says of the number of impaired drivers still on the road. He says it also inspires him to continue working as a Mothers Against Drunk Driving spokesperson, sharing his story and hoping it will make even one person decide to find a safe ride home instead of putting others at risk.

“I’ve met so many other people that had been impacted so severely by drunk drivers that I was shocked. And it wasn’t new to me — I grew up in a house where drinking and driving was almost normal, it was acceptable.”

He recalls a time, decades ago, when police would stop someone, learn they had been drinking and tell them to get home safely, allowing them to continue down the road.

“In the 50s and 60s it was kind of laughable in a way… but things have changed considerably. There’s way more people on the roads, there’s way more cars. People drive recklessly so they do that while they’re impaired and they end up killing someone or destroying their own lives at the same time.”

He says people think they will get away with it, because they probably already have many times before, but hopes the new laws will act as a deterrent. If they don’t, he hopes they will help catch those who continue to drive impaired.

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