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Remedial program puts drivers back on trackCrossCurrentsJaclyn Greenberg
That judgment call is what Cloutier works to change. “The goal of the program is to separate drinking from driving,” says
the addictions counsellor from Oshawa’s Pinewood Centre, one of the program’s 28 sites. “The two should never mix.” Preventing people from re-offending is integral to shrinking the number of impaired driving charges laid each year. As part
of a multi-pronged strategy that includes public education and enforcement, reducing recidivism may have helped to create
a decline in charges from a high of 162,048 in 1981 to a low of 69,192 in 2000, according to a 2007 BOT evaluation report. Despite legislation and programming, the reality remains sobering: MADD Canada estimates that in 2005, impaired driving in
Canada, including impairment by drugs other than alcohol, resulted in 1,210 fatalities and 71,413 injuries. These numbers
are not extreme in an average year, it is estimated that impaired driving kills 1,203 people and injures 70,973 more. The
cost of damages is estimated to be in the billions. In an effort to ensure a continuing decline, in 1998 the Ontario government mandated completion of a remedial program for
convicted impaired drivers, and for good reason: North American research suggests that remedial programs can reduce recidivism
by 20 per cent or more. Stakeholders applaud this comprehensive approach. “The beauty of Back on Track is that it identifies the track the person
needs to be in and provides the appropriate help,” says Andy Murie, CEO of MADD Canada. Providing the appropriate help starts with the key goal of reducing heavy drinking and heavy drinking occasions, says Robert
Mann, a senior scientist at CAMH involved in evaluating BOT. These risk behaviours are targeted partly in the treatment program,
where facilitators address motivational factors that can trigger or influence alcohol consumption, and partly through the
education component, which all participants complete. Participants learn about safe drinking and the health consequences associated
with heavy alcohol use. They also learn about the financial, legal, criminal and social implications of re-offending. “The program appeals to how you think about drinking and driving,” says James, a 28-year-old who completed Back on Track in
2000. “Whether you think it is unethical to drink and drive, or that it is too expensive or that is a concern for your health
– one way or another, the program gets everyone to think about not mixing the two again.” The hefty price tag – $578 plus GST that participants must pay themselves – is itself an incentive to change attitudes towards
drinking and driving. Program facilitators help participants establish drinking-related goals to maintain post-program and provides strategies to
avoid recidivism. But engaging people can be a challenge, Cloutier admits, especially male participants in the treatment program.
Despite difficultly gauging the program’s influence in the moment, follow-up interviews months later consistently prove the
program’s lasting impact. “Former participants say ‘I wasn’t happy being in the program, but I really did learn a lot,’” says
Cloutier. Anecdotal information aside, BOT is the most evaluated program of its kind in Canada. According to Mann, between assessment
and follow-up, participants reported a 26 per cent reduction in the number of days of alcohol use, and a 21 per cent reduction
in the number of drinks per drinking occasion. Another promising, if unanticipated outcome was the reduction in use of substances other than alcohol, says Mann. Cannabis
and cocaine showed the most significant reductions, at 71 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively. “Considering last summer’s
new legislation giving police the tools to determine a driver’s sobriety with substances other than alcohol, these results
are as timely as they are significant,” says Mann. “The data suggest that we’re seeing some real fundamental change for a
lot of these participants and how they’re approaching the world.” CAMH plans to collect recidivism and collision data to measure BOT’s impact. In the meantime, program organizers are assessing
the opportunity to tailor the program further, given two promising evaluation outcomes: The latest data shed light on the
extent to which motivational factors such as negative affect or self-esteem affect a participant’s likelihood of success.
This relationship, in addition to the confirmation that people with more severe problems benefit from more intense interventions,
could lead to an even more targeted approach than the current two-stream system. Murie considers BOT a pillar to permanently eradicating drunk driving in Ontario. Given the program’s unparalleled completion
rate of 97 per cent and the positive result of participating, Murie hopes to see the province boost the participation rate,
which is about 60 per cent of eligible convicted drinking drivers. James hopes the need for such programs will eventually disappear. He sees increased awareness about the dangers of drinking
and driving among his friends’ younger siblings. In the meantime, he encourages the work of programs like Back on Track: “From
the spirit of the program, if it’s successful it won’t exist forever.”
For more information about Back on Track, visit www.remedial.net. See Health Canada’s web site at www.hc-sc.gc.ca. Under “Healthy Living,” choose “Alcohol”; then under “Resources,” choose “Reports on Driving While Impaired.” The 2004 report, Best Practices: Treatment and Rehabilitation for Driving While Impaired Offenders, lists remedial programs across Canada.
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Last updated: December 22, 2008 2:3 PM Published: February 22, 2010 9:01 PM ID#41365-R |