LIVID! Learning, Insights & Voices on Impaired Driving

Why does impaired driving still happen after decades of heartbreaking victim stories, awareness campaigns, police crackdowns, and public outrage?In Episode 5 of LIVID: Learning, Insights, and Voices on Impaired Driving, Amanda Bickell asks a difficult question many people are afraid to say out loud:What if victim stories are not enough to create change?After losing her daughter Abbey to an impaired driver, Amanda examines why emotional appeals, memorial campaigns, tragic headlines, and pleas from grieving families have failed to end one of Canada’s deadliest preventable crimes.This episode explores:• Why cautionary tales often fail to change behaviour• Why many impaired drivers believe nothing bad will happen to them• How sentencing realities weaken deterrence• Why empathy-based messaging may miss the highest-risk offenders• Canada’s struggle between individual rights vs collective safety• Why anti-impaired-driving groups are outspent by alcohol marketing• Whether awareness campaigns can truly solve the problem• The staggering $29.25 billion annual cost of impaired driving in Canada• What every Canadian is already paying for this crisisAmanda also explores whether a different message—financial consequences, personal accountability, and collective responsibility—may be more effective than emotional appeals alone.This is not an attack on victims sharing their stories. It is a challenge to ask whether Canada has relied on the wrong strategy for too long.Because while we wait for awareness to work…More people die.More families grieve.More stories are ignored.LIVID is a Canadian podcast confronting impaired driving through grief, truth, research, justice, and solutions.Content Warning:This episode discusses death, traumatic loss, impaired driving, grief, and failures within the justice system.If this episode matters to you:• Share it• Talk about impaired driving• Intervene when someone is about to drive impaired• Call 911 when necessaryReal change starts with uncomfortable conversations.References:madd.ca/pages/impaired-driving/overview/statistics/canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/campaigns/national-impaired-driving-prevention-week.htmlmadd.ca/pages/national-impaired-driving-prevention-week-stronger-action-needed-to-stop-impaired-driving/rcmp.ca/en/bc/kelowna/news/2026/04/4351820#s7wikipedia.org/wiki/Cautionary_taleshare.google/Qj7dscYem9ugu1Vukthestar.com/news/canada/life-sentence-for-incorrigible-drunk-driver/article_74764fc7-fbc9-5286-b88b-92b11e1afcf9.htmlcanada.ca/en/parole-board/corporate/publications-and-forms/timeline-for-conditional-release.htmlworldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/individualistic-countrieshelpfulprofessor.com/collectivism-vs-individualism/cmha.ca/news/only-13-of-canadians-are-feeling-empathetic/cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/impaired-drunk-driving-supreme-court-constitution-9.7074077madd.ca/pages/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/MADD-Heroes-PSA-Report_Final.pdfmediaincanada.com/2021/05/31/alcohol-ad-spending-is-on-the-rise-report/publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/dprtmntl-rslts-rprt-2023-24/hrz-hzl-en.aspxarchive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/archive/pre2001/1999/1876.aspmadd.ca/pages/impaired-driving/overview/the-financial-cost-of-impaired-driving/canada.ca/en/department-finance/services/publications/annual-financial-report/2025.html#impaireddriving #dui #canada #roadsafety #griefpodcast #justice #MADDCanada #victimrights

After 967 days of waiting, the sentence was finally delivered.In Part 2 of Episode 4 of LIVID: Learning, Insights, and Voices on Impaired Driving, Amanda Bickell shares what happened in court when the man who killed her 22-year-old daughter, Abbey, was sentenced.Four and a half years in prison. A seven-year driving ban.And one question that wouldn’t go away: Was justice actually served?This episode takes you inside the final stage of sentencing—from the defence’s arguments for leniency to the judge’s reasoning, and the emotional aftermath that followed. Amanda breaks down what was said in court and challenges how justice is defined in Canada.You’ll hear:• The 11 mitigating factors presented by the defence• Why claims of remorse, addiction, and “first offence” status are so complex• How Alcohol Use Disorder was treated in sentencing• The role of media coverage—and whether public awareness is considered punishment• How sentencing principles like deterrence and denunciation are applied• Why precedent and parity may be reinforcing a system that isn’t workingAmanda also explores four different types of justice—procedural, distributive, retributive, and restorative—and asks whether any of them were truly achieved.Even when the system works exactly as designed, does it actually deliver justice?If sentencing is meant to deter impaired driving and send a message that this behaviour is unacceptable, this episode asks a difficult question:If it’s working… why is this still happening?This is not just about one case. It’s about what we accept, and what needs to change.Content Note: This episode discusses impaired driving, traumatic loss, and grief. Listener discretion is advised.What you Can Do:Share this episode. Talk about impaired driving. Intervene when you see it. Call 911 if needed.Real change starts with uncomfortable conversations.REFERENCESR. c. Walsh, 2005https://www.canlii.org/fr/qc/qccq/doc/2005/2005canlii10072/2005canlii10072.htmlGovernment of British Columbia. Alcohol and drug related driving prohibitions and suspensionshttps://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/roadsafetybc/prohibitions/alcoholNorthcote, J. & Livingston, M. (2011)“Accuracy of Self-Reported Drinking”https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agr138Celestine, N. (2020) Prosocial Behaviorhttps://positivepsychology.com/prosocial-behavior/PIHL Law Corp. Drunk Driving Not Just a Criminal Problemhttps://pihl.ca/drunk-driving-not-just-a-criminal-problem/Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO)https://iiobc.ca/media/iio-concludes-investigation-into-a-july-2023-motor-vehicle-incident-in-burnaby-2023-201/Nesbit, Ben. CTV Newshttps://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/she-would-be-furious-this-is-how-her-life-ended-mother-of-woman-killed-in-crash-with-suspected-impaired-driver-speaks-out/RCMP Press Releasehttps://bc-archives.rcmp.ca/ViewPage641e.htmlNesbitt, Ben. CTV News (Guilty Plea)https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/man-pleads-guilty-in-impaired-crash-that-killed-woman-in-burnaby-bc/Maragos, Demetra. CTV News (Sentencing)https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/parents-worst-nightmare-victims-mother-speaks-at-sentencing-for-fatal-bc-crash/Steacy, Lisa & Maragos, Demetra. CTV News (Sentence Outcome)https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/bc-man-sentenced-to-4-years-in-prison-for-crash-that-killed-woman/Government of Canada. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedomshttps://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/Criminal Code of Canada, s. 718.2(b)https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-718.2.htmlWikipedia. Justicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JusticeKruse Law. Sentencing for Manslaughter in Canadahttps://www.kruselaw.ca/blog/sentencing-for-manslaughter/Government of Canada. Recidivism Among Impaired Drivershttps://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2011CanLIIDocs627

On March 12, 2026, the man who killed Abbey was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison and a 7-year driving ban.After 967 days of waiting, the case was over.But instead of closure… there were more questions.In this first part of a two-episode series, Amanda takes you inside the courtroom to break down how sentencing for impaired driving causing death works in Canada—step by step.This episode focuses on the Crown’s arguments, explaining:What the offender was legally convicted ofWhat “driving over 80” actually meansHow Canadian sentencing principles (Criminal Code s. 718) guide decisionsWhy punishment is NOT a sentencing principle in CanadaThe role of denunciation and deterrence in impaired driving casesWhy driving is legally considered a privilege, not a rightHow courts assess aggravating factors like extreme intoxication, dangerous driving, and prior behaviourHow case law shapes sentencing outcomesYou’ll also hear the emotional reality behind the legal process:👉 Why understanding the system doesn’t always bring peace👉 Why “justice” feels complicated—even when the system works as designedThis episode offers a rare and powerful perspective:A victim’s family member explaining the legal reasoning behind a sentence they must live with.If you’ve ever asked:Why are impaired driving sentences in Canada so low?How do judges decide sentencing in impaired driving causing death cases?Does the justice system truly deter impaired driving?This episode will give you answers—and raise important new questions.⚠️ Content warning: This episode discusses impaired driving, traumatic loss, and graphic injury.🎧 The Next Episode, will cover the defence arguments, the judge’s decision, and whether justice was truly served.📚 ReferencesCanada, Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 (ss. 718, 320.12)https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/page-121.htmlhttps://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/page-46.html#h-121299R v Suter, 2018 SCC 34https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2018/2018scc34/2018scc34.htmlR v Macleod, 2022 BCPC 297https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcpc/doc/2022/2022bcpc297/2022bcpc297.htmlR v MacMunn, 2025 ONSC 5884https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2025/2025onsc5884/2025onsc5884.htmlBC Motor Vehicle Act, s.148(1)https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96318_05#section148🔎 Keywordsimpaired driving Canada, DUI sentencing Canada, impaired driving causing death, criminal code sentencing Canada, drunk driving laws Canada, victim impact justice, deterrence vs punishment, Canadian court sentencing, DUI fatal crash Canada, justice system explained

What does a victim impact statement in a Canadian court actually sound like? When someone is killed by an impaired driver in Canada, families may speak during a criminal sentencing hearing to describe the real consequences of drunk driving and impaired driving. In this episode of LIVID: Learning, Insights, and Voices on Impaired Driving, host Amanda Bickell shares the victim impact statement she delivered in court after the impaired driver who killed her 22-year-old daughter, Abbey, plead guilty.On February 25, 2026, more than two and 1/2 years after Abbey’s death, Amanda stood in a Vancouver courtroom and publicly described the impact of losing her child. This episode is a recording of that statement.It is deeply personal and emotionally difficult. Amanda recounts her last moments with Abbey, the morning police came to the door, and the devastating responsibilities that follow the sudden death of a child. She describes the reality of traumatic grief, the decisions families must make in the aftermath of a fatal crash, and how a single act of impaired driving can fracture lives, families, and communities forever.The statement also reflects on the life Abbey lived: her strength, values, friendships, and the many possibilities that were taken from her when she was killed. Through this testimony, the courtroom heard not just about a fatal collision, but about a daughter, sister, friend, and young woman whose future was stolen by someone else’s decision to drive impaired.Amanda speaks about the lasting effects of traumatic loss, the pieces of life that are completely destroyed, the pieces that remain but are forever broken, and the ongoing work of learning to live with grief that never ends.This episode contains the full victim impact statement as read in court, shared with the hope that listeners will better understand the real consequences of impaired driving.If hearing this story helps even one person decide never to drive impaired, to stop someone else from doing so, or to report a suspected impaired driver, then Abbey’s story may help make the world just a little safer.Listener discretion is advised. This episode discusses traumatic loss, grief, and the death of a child.

Do victim impact statements influence sentencing in Canadian courts? In cases involving impaired driving in Canada, victims and families are often invited to speak during a sentencing hearing, but many wonder whether their words truly matter in the criminal justice system or under the impaired driving laws designed to hold offenders accountable.In this episode of LIVID!: Learning, Insights, and Voices on Impaired Driving, host Amanda Bickell explores the purpose and impact of victim impact statements after delivering her own in court on February 25, 2026, during the sentencing of the impaired driver who killed her 22-year-old daughter, Abbey.Victim impact statements became part of Canada’s Criminal Code in 1988 and are now protected under the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights (2015), which guarantees victims the right to participate in the justice system and have their statements considered during sentencing.But many victims still ask: Do victim impact statements actually matter?Amanda shares what it was like to prepare and read her statement in a Vancouver courtroom. She describes the emotional labour of writing about devastating loss, speaking directly to the judge and the offender, and the moment when victims’ voices filled the courtroom.In Abbey’s case, 21 victim impact statements were submitted, far above Canada’s average participation rate of about 11%. Research suggests these statements may have limited influence on sentencing outcomes, but they can help judges understand the real harm caused by crime, humanize victims in legal proceedings, and may even reduce the likelihood of reoffending.More importantly, victim impact statements can help victims reclaim their voice. Amanda reflects on the unexpected benefits of the process: honouring Abbey’s life, strengthening relationships among those who loved her, and opening conversations about grief that had been too painful to share.While they may not influence the sentence, victim impact statements can transform the courtroom from a place focused only on legal facts into one where the human cost of impaired driving is heard.In Part 2, Amanda shares the victim impact statement she read in court.LIVID! explores impaired driving in Canada through real stories, research, and honest conversations about loss, justice, and change.Listener discretion advised.ReferencesRoberts, Julian V. Victim Impact Statements: Lessons Learned and Future Priorities. Government of Canada. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/rr07_vic4/p1.html#ftn1Government of Canada. Victims Rights in Canada: Victim Impact Statements. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/victims-victimes/factsheets-fiches/victim-victime.htmlGovernment of Canada. Victim Impact Statements. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/victims-victimes/sentencing-peine/vis-dv.htmlBritish Columbia Review Board. Information for Victims. https://www.bcrb.ca/info-for-victims/MADD Canada. Victim/Survivor Services. https://madd.ca/pages/programs/victimsurvivor-services/Government of Canada. Use of Victim Impact Statements at Sentencing and Parole. https://www.victimsweek.gc.ca/res/r58.htmlLePage, Kamelle. Canadian Victim Impact Statements. Saint Mary’s University, 2022. https://library2.smu.ca/bitstream/handle/01/30905/LePage_Kamelle_MASTERS_2022.pdfKahlon, Opinder Singh. Effects of Victim Impact Statements on Sentencing Outcomes. Justice Institute of British Columbia, 2024. https://jibc.arcabc.ca/_flysystem/repo-bin/2024-12/jibc_3559.pdf

In the debut episode of LIVID (Learning, Insights, and Voices on Impaired Driving), host Amanda Bickell shares the devastating story that changed her life forever and sparked a call to action on impaired driving in Canada.This episode recounts how Amanda’s 22-year-old daughter, Abbey, was killed by an impaired driver in British Columbia. Through carefully documented, publicly available facts, Amanda explains how a driver travelling at extreme speed, running multiple red lights, fleeing a prior collision, and driving with a blood alcohol level roughly three times the legal limit, ended Abbey’s life in seconds. Abbey and her friend did nothing wrong. She was killed through no fault of her own.Beyond the timeline of the crash in Burnaby and Vancouver, this episode explores the long and painful aftermath: grief, rage, and the slow grind of the Canadian justice system. Amanda speaks candidly about what it means to be a “good victim,” the limitations, and the frustration of waiting years for accountability while an offender remains free.But this is not just a story of loss. It is a reckoning.Amanda questions why impaired driving, despite decades of education, enforcement, and awareness campaigns, remains the leading cause of criminal death in Canada. She asks why data is inconsistent, why court processes take so long, why sentences feel disconnected from harm, and why society continues to tolerate an entirely preventable crime. Drawing on her background in organizational wisdom and systems thinking, she reframes impaired driving as a systemic failure involving law, policy, culture, enforcement, and collective responsibility.This episode also introduces the heart of LIVID: moving from righteous anger to informed action. Amanda explains how the thoughts she could not express in court became the foundation for this podcast, a place to ask hard questions, challenge uncomfortable truths, and amplify voices that demand change. Future episodes will explore law, politics, alcohol culture, trauma, economics, enforcement, prevention, and what zero impaired driving deaths in Canada could actually look like.The episode is dedicated to Abbey, her courage, her voice, and her refusal to stay silent in the face of injustice. Through LIVID, Amanda carries that courage forward, determined to fight for a future where no family receives the knock at the door that shattered hers.Listener discretion advised: This episode contains discussions of impaired driving, traumatic loss, grief, and the justice system.If you care about road safety, criminal justice, victims’ rights, or preventing impaired driving in Canada, this episode is a powerful place to start.🔔 Subscribe to LIVID for upcoming episodes, expert interviews, case analysis, and updates as this journey continues.🌐 Learn more and explore references at www.lividpodcast.caReferences:College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University. Understanding Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). Retrieved Feb 21, 2026 fromhttps://www.csbsju.edu/well-being-center/health-promotion/alcohol-guide/understanding-blood-alcohol-content-bac/British Columbia Prosecution Service. Victim Impact Statement and Statement on Restitution (Information Guide).Retrieved Feb 26, 2026 fromhttps://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/prosecution-service/information-sheets/victim-impact-statements/victim-impact-statement-guide.pdfGovernment of Canada, Department of Justicehttps://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/sidl-rlcfa/Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 2024–25 Departmental Planhttps://rcmp.ca/en/corporate-information/publications-and-manuals/2024-25-departmental-plan/full-report#t10matchpredictionStatistics Canadahttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv!recreate.action?pid=3510017701McCarthy, Niall. The Worst Countries in the World for Drunk Driving. Statista, August 16, 2016.https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.kpu.ca:2443/chart/5504/the-worst-countries-in-the-world-for-drunk-driving/