A new poll by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation reveals that Canadians may be changing their habits regarding driving after drinking.  

The public opinion poll conducted in September investigated how many Canadians drove after drinking in the last year.

Nineteen per cent of Canadians polled admitted to driving after consuming any amount of alcohol in the past 30 days in 2009. This figure has consistently increased since 2005 and further suggests a stable upward trend in the number of people who admit to this behaviour.

The good news is that researchers were also able to identify a decrease in the number of Canadians who drove when they thought they were over the legal limit in 2008 and 2009; this in comparison to those who admitted to the same behaviour in 2007. About 5.6 percent of Canadians admitted to driving when they thought they were over the legal limit in the past 12 months. This is a slight increase compared to 2008 - at 5.2 percent - but does confirm the considerable drop from 8.2 percent in 2007.

According to official statistics, in 2007, 863 Canadians were killed in a traffic crash involving a drinking driver. This represents an increase since 2004. However there have been steady declines, from 1,296 in 1995 to 815 in 2004.