OTTAWA, Ont. — A recently released poll by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF)shows that a majority of Canadians think drunk driving is a major problem and want tougher laws.

Douglas Beirness, vice-president of the TIRF, says 86 per cent of 1,214 people surveyed nationally responded that drunk driving is their number-one road safety concern. As well, 80 per cent of respondents want tougher laws against and enforcement of drunk driving.

Survey respondents indicated that they want to see, among other things:

* more spot checks by police
* immediate vehicle impoundment for drivers who fail breathalyzer tests
* mandatory breathalyzer tests for any driver in a serious crash
* alcohol-ignition locks on vehicles owned by convicted impaired drivers

Beirness says although drunk driving-related deaths declined in the 1980s by 27 per cent and by another 5 per cent in the 1990s, hundreds of Canadians – about 900 in 2000 and 2001 – are killed each year in alcohol-related accidents.