More DUI Convictions Now Include Vehicle Forfeiture

Here's a new slogan for you: You booze, you lose.

It seems that more and more provinces are adding provisions for vehicle forfeiture to their DUI laws. British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario now either have, or are considering, civil forfeiture legislation. More power to them.

This week, a New Brunswick judge sentenced a repeat DUI offender to 6 months in jail and the Crown served notice that it will make an application to have the offender's vehicle forfeited.

This story, in the March 5 edition of the Moncton Times & Transcript newspaper, stated that the person caught had his last DUI conviction about one month ago. The judge considered this in her sentence of 6 months in jail and a three year ban from driving.

More provinces need to consider vehicle forfeiture as part of the normal procedure for DUI convictions. I've said it many times before and I will say it again. Driving under the influence of alcohol is the Number 1 preventable cause of death in Canada. We need to get these criminals off of our roads and we need to do more to prevent them from becoming repeat offenders.