Alcohol-related road deaths decreasing in Canada

Alcohol-related road deaths are decreasing in Canada, according to the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF). In Canada, alcohol has been a factor in 30% to 40% of road deaths for the past 15 years. Although the percentage of alcohol-related road deaths in Canada has hovered between 30% and 35% for the past decade, data show the actual number of Canadians who died in traffic crashes involving a drinking driver has declined from 1,296 in 1995 to 714 in 2009, TIRF said. During the same period in Alberta, alcohol-related driving fatalities fell from 182 to 145. “So, while the number of persons killed in crashes involving a drinking driver remains unacceptable, the problem is getting smaller,” TIRF reported.