The other day, I wrote that I had attended the education session of Ontario’s “Back On Track” program – the remedial program that drivers in Ontario who are convicted of alcohol related driving offenses must attend prior to having their drivers license reinstated.

As I previously wrote, the facilitators of the education class were very good.  They did a great job at keeping the day moving along and although I was expecting a long dry boring day, that was not the case.

In my class, there were 23 people scheduled in however one was a “no show.” Unless that person that did not show up has a reason such as serious illness or death in the immediate family, they have forfeited the approximately $600.00 they paid and will be marked as a “fail.” If that person wants their license back, they will have to reapply to the program and pay the fee again.

Upon my arrival, I noticed that there were a wide array of participants including all ages.  There were some who were in their early 20′s as well as people in their mid to late 50′s.  Both men and women were in attendance, and from every walk of life – unemployed to business professionals.  Most of us were obviously concerned and ashamed of the fact that we were now officially “criminals” in the nation of Canada.

One of the things that was stressed by the facilitator was the element of confidentiality in regard to discussions that might take place in the classroom. The confidentiality was stressed due to the fact that many of us have perhaps chosen not to tell all of our family and associates about our drunk driving conviction.  That confidentiality about personal details that some may share in the classroom was asked to be held in the utmost of respect.

The facilitators did want us to participate, ask questions if we had any, and at the very start of the day, introduce ourselves and tell the class how we arrived at the classroom session. We were also asked what the hardest thing for us has been since our impaired driving charge.

After our own brief introductions, the facilitators began their own introduction to the program and stressed the following:

1. They were not there to give the attendees a “hard time” about drinking or about their drinking and driving conviction

2. The classroom session was intended to provide information and assistance with tools we could take back with us to prevent drinking and driving in the future.

3.  We were encouraged to share what we had learned with family and friends to help them prevent a situation where they might drink and drive.

4. That there was not just “one type” of person that is at risk of drinking and driving: Rather, anyone who drinks and has a drivers license could be at risk, regardless of their walk in life, their gender, their background, their race, creed or colour.

5. That the intention of the program was not to be “anti-alcohol.” In fact, the two facilitators stated that they themselves drank on social occasions. Rather, the classroom session was to help drivers separate the behaviors of drinking and driving.

In accomplishing their goals, I feel the facilitators did a very good job. They pointed out that they were not going to ask us to stop drinking – that was a personal choice. Some perhaps had chosen to completely stop drinking alcohol after they were caught driving impaired while others had made choices to continue drinking – but the point was to separate drinking from driving.

As well, there was information provided about how alcohol is metabolized by the body, the many factors that can contribute to the length of time it takes for alcohol to be broken down into carbon dioxide and water completely (to where there is a blood alcohol concentration of zero), as well as information about health risks of heavy drinking.

Some of the information I have to admit I found a bit extreme – such as the suggestion that if you’ve had 5 drinks on one occasion, you are “binge” drinking according to medical studies on the affects of alcohol.  But at the same time, it is useful to have a variety of opinions and understanding how those opinions are formed.

The session wasn’t just all about alcohol education either.  One of the things I found very interesting was that the facilitators spent quite a bit of time on Canadian Law and helping people understand what exactly “Care and Control” of a vehicle could mean.  Many might be shocked to learn about the situations that they could possibly be convicted of “Care and Control While Under the Influence” – indeed, one of the odd situations applied to one of the persons in attendance at this session. I’ll discuss that in a later post.

As well as legal information, the facilitators spent some time discussing with us how we could eventually apply for a pardon for our drunk driving convictions.  I thought this too was very good and certainly showed that the intent of the classroom session was not to make us all feel bad, but rather to assist us going forward.

In the afternoon, we learned about how we can modify our own behaviors and thoughts by examining the thoughts we had that lead up to our own “incidents” and being aware of them.  By learning this, we could make better decisions in the future about occasions where alcohol might be a factor, both planned and unplanned events.

All in all, it was an interesting and informative day.  Personally, I still think that the $600.00 fee is extreme though – it is almost as if there are financial penalties upon financial penalties in relation to this particular crime that are extreme and are not found in the same degree as other crimes.  But that is my opinion, and as the facilitators pointed out near the beginning of the day, “We know there are many things about impaired driving, the rules, regulations and more that you think are unfair. But, we’re not hear to discuss the fairness or lack thereof – that’s not our job, and we’re not going to engage in debate about this.  We’re only hear to give you information about what is, and what you can do to prevent this again in the future.”

Whether or not the $600.00 fee is “fair” or “justified” after taking into consideration all the other financial penalties is for another discussion.  If you’re in Ontario, you have to pay the fee and take the course if you want your license back.  And after taking the course, and wondering what it was going to be all about, I know there are others who are in the same position and what I can now say is that if you have an attitude of being interested and learning, you’ll get a lot out of the day.  You may even find that it will motivate you to take a closer look at your own alcohol use (like it did for me) and not necessarily make drastic changes, but changes that will be helpful to you and others you love.

Related Posts:

Back On Track Education Session – Part 1

Back On Track Assessment

My thoughts on the assessment portion of the Back On Track program.

Back On Track Homework

The homework that is assigned after the Back On Track Assessment

Back On Track Education Exercise

The first exercise in the participant workbook – homework assigned before you attend the education class