184 drivers off the streets thanks to law

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This article was published 24/08/2016 (2794 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A tough new law following the death of a young hair stylist killed inside her salon by an out-of-control driver has led to the suspension of licences for 184 high-risk drivers in its first nine months.

Under the Safer Roads Act, which took effect Dec. 1, the drivers immediately lost their right to drive — instead of months later after a hearing. Previously, drivers charged with serious offences were able to keep driving until they had a hearing.

“These are high-risk drivers,” MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said Thursday. “Typically, they have numerous offences — they have a history of being high-risk drivers.”

The opposition NDP pointed out Thursday it enacted the law after the death of stylist Kendall Wiebe in 2012. The 27-year-old woman was killed when a car smashed through the window of her salon.

Driver Adebola Shoyoye mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, crashing through the window of Ultra Cuts on Portage Avenue. He was found to have been at fault in seven of the 10 previous crashes in which he was involved.

Shoyoye was sentenced to 90 days in jail and given an eight-year driving suspension.

Some of the serious charges that now have a licence lifted immediately involve fleeing from police, racing or going 50 km/h or more above the posted limit.

The law “resulted in police contacting MPI immediately of an offence. Previously, we weren’t notified from the roadside,” Smiley said. “The province was bringing us in line with other jurisdictions.”

MPI considers both the alleged offence and the driver’s history in taking away the licence and imposing various durations of licence suspensions.

MPI and the driver schedule an appeal hearing within five days of the roadside charge if the driver challenges MPI’s suspension, Smiley said, but MPI has no control over when the appeal is heard.

An aide to Infrastructure Minister Blaine Pedersen said Thursday it takes 16 to 18 weeks to appear at an appeal hearing. The licence suspension appeal board sits once a week in Winnipeg — though more frequently, if there is need — every three to six weeks in Brandon, and every three months in the North.

Said the province: “The board doesn’t uphold, reduce or overturn suspensions in general. The board grants conditional licences with the conditions and restrictions it considers appropriate. Usually these restrictions include limiting driving to and from work, or only in the course of employment between certain hours.”

“The former NDP government introduced some of the toughest legislation in the country to protect Manitobans from drivers whose reckless disregard for the safety of others puts lives at risk,” NDP spokeswoman Rachel Morgan said.

“You will recall the outrage Manitobans felt when a driver with multiple driving convictions had been able to keep his licence and then killed a woman by driving through a salon window in 2012. The amendments to the Drivers and Vehicles Act we introduced were designed to help prevent this kind of tragic event from every happening again,” she said.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca