A Quebec coroner recommends that the authorities carry out as soon as possible an analysis of the feasibility of lowering the blood alcohol limit for motorists from 0.08 mg / 100 ml to 0.05 mg / 100 ml and amend the Road Safety Code accordingly.
Coroner Yvon Garneau issues this recommendation to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and to the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) in the investigation report he files Tuesday on the death of Stéphanie Houle which occurred on 1 October 2021 in Drummondville.
Ms. Houle was a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in a collision that occurred on Hemming Road.
In his report, Coroner Garneau indicates in particular that blood samples analyzed at the Laboratory of Judicial Sciences and Legal Medicine in Montreal revealed a blood alcohol level of almost twice the legal limit for the driver at the time of the loss of control of the vehicle. His investigation also demonstrated that certain people may have witnessed his consumption of alcohol before he got behind the wheel of the vehicle which transported Stéphanie Houle.
Coroner Garneau also recommends that the ministry, the SAAQ and the Éduc’alcool organization coordinate their efforts in order to implement awareness activities aimed at reminding the public of the importance of reporting to the police drivers who have or appear to have impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Along the same lines, a few years ago the coroner expressed an interest in having alcohol ignition interlock devices installed on all new vehicles sold in Canada.
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