Welcome to

Sober Smart Driving

More than 40 years of alcohol research has guided legislation, policies and programs to prevent and reduce alcohol-impaired driving.

The Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF)’s Sober Smart Driving website (formerly Change the Conversation), with funding provided by Beer Canada, shares knowledge and research to answer common questions about alcohol and impaired driving. It contains facts to help Canadians speak up about the risks associated with drinking and driving and why they choose not to drink and drive.

Today, less than 10% of Canadians self-report driving after drinking when they thought they were over the legal limit and fatal road crashes involving a drinking driver have declined substantially. Still, alcohol is a contributing factor in slightly more than one in four (28.8%) of all road deaths in 2016.

Myths & Misconceptions

Explore many of the common myths and misconceptions regarding issues related to addressing the problem of impaired driving.

While the total number of persons killed in alcohol-related crashes has declined, the number of deaths remains unacceptably high.

While the total number of persons killed in alcohol-related crashes has declined from 1,057 in 1995 to 480 deaths in 2016, according to the TIRF National Fatality Database, the number of deaths remains unacceptably high. The progress achieved to date should not lull Canadians into complacency.

Key topics discussed on this site include: