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Impaired DrivingImpaired Driving is on the rise. In B.C., it kills over 100 people and injures more than 3,000 each year. Every one of these tragedies is entirely preventable. In April 2010, the Province introduced changes to give B.C. the toughest provincial impaired driving legislation in the country. If you drink and drive after the new law comes into effect on September 20, 2010, you can count on penalties adding up to between $600 and $4,060 – even if it's the first time you're caught – and more time off the road. For more information on this announcement, see: July 28, 2010 News Release and April 27, 2010 News Release and Backgrounder.
Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) – a unit measuring the amount of alcohol in the body. E.g., 0.05 BAC = 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. PenaltiesCurrently, a police officer may issue you an immediate, 24-hour driving suspension at the roadside and, at the officer’s discretion, impound the vehicle you are driving if you are found to be driving while impaired. To impose more severe sanctions, such as 90-day Administrative Driving Prohibitions [PDF] and possible criminal charges, an officer must take you to their station or detachment for additional testing. Beginning in fall 2010, more immediate and severe penalties will apply if:
As well, the new penalties will become more severe for repeat offences. If a police officer suspects you are driving impaired, they will ask you to provide a breath sample at the roadside, into a roadside screening device. Depending on the BAC in the sample, the device will either indicate Pass, Warn or Fail. PASS means your breath sample contains a BAC below 0.05 per cent. WARN means your breath sample is between 0.05 and 0.08 per cent BAC. If you are caught in this range: The first time within a five-year period:
The second time within a five-year period:
The third time within a five-year period:
FAIL means your BAC is above 0.08 per cent. If you fail or refuse to provide a breath sample:
CURRENT and NEW Penalties Comparison Chart [PDF] – download chart to view current penalties compared to penalties in effect fall 2010. Graduated Licensing Program – Driver PenaltiesFor drivers in the Graduated Licensing Program (“L” and “N” drivers), existing sanctions will continue to be applied at police discretion. GLP drivers who demonstrate BAC levels greater than zero but less than 0.05, or who police suspect there is any level of alcohol or drugs in their system face the following penalties listed below:
GLP drivers who blow a WARN or FAIL are subject to the regular impaired driving penalties, in addition to their GLP-specific consequences and reviews. Support for Strong EnforcementThe new, roadside-issued, 90-day bans mean officers will no longer need to take drivers to the station for a additional breath analysis in order to impose a driving ban longer than 24 hours. In B.C., local municipal police departments and RCMP detachments are responsible for determining local enforcement priorities. However, with more time to enforce stronger penalties right at the roadside, police officers will be able to focus their impaired driving enforcement efforts on removing more impaired and dangerous drivers from the road immediately. Enforcement Starts at 0.05
When your blood-alcohol content reaches 0.05 per cent, your co-ordination, sensitivity to brightness, and depth perception may be compromised. If you are driving, your reaction time will be slower and your responses less precise. You are more dangerous on the road. Appealing a Roadside ProhibitionDrivers who receive a roadside prohibition will continue to have the opportunity to have the prohibition reviewed by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles. To seek a review, a driver will need to file an application within seven days of a prohibition. The superintendent will then consider all available information – including from police, the driver and Crown counsel – and complete the review within 21 days. Review fees are doubling to $100 for a written review and $200 for an oral review to help offset more of the costs currently covered by taxpayers. For information on the current appeal process and how to file an application, please see Administrative Driving Prohibition [PDF]. All information to be considered in the review is disclosed to the driver prior to the hearing and the driver has the opportunity to provide additional evidence to dispute the facts of the case. The driver may also make an application under the Judicial Review Procedures Act to have the decision reviewed by the Supreme Court. If a prohibition is revoked, the vehicle is immediately released and all penalties including impoundment fees are waived or refunded (except in the case where the car was impounded for multiple reasons).
Drug-impaired DriversB.C.’s approach to drug-impaired driving will not change. Many police officers are trained to recognize the signs of drug impairment; however, it is still not possible to measure drug impairment at the roadside. If a police officer reasonably suspects that a driver is impaired by drugs, the officer may take that driver to a police station or detachment to test for drug impairment. Legislation and other Links
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Updated:
September 1, 2010
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One of the goals of B.C.’s new expected, clear, swift and severe penalties for impaired driving is to deter those who are caught with blood-alcohol content between 0.05 and 0.08 per cent, because they still present a significant danger to others on B.C. roads.
As a driver, you should expect to face significant penalties if you show signs of impairment – even if you provide a breath sample between 0.05 and 0.08 per cent BAC.