“I’m Fine Officer – Really”
If you are found to be driving any type of vehicle while legally impaired, you are committing a crime. And you don't have to be driving a car or truck on the road to be charged. Impaired driving laws apply to boats, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and airplanes. They apply on private property as well as on public roads. They apply even if the vehicle is parked. Once you sit behind the wheel with the keys in your hand, the laws apply to you.
If a police officer comes up to your vehicle and you have been drinking or doing drugs, you might be in for a long night.
The officer will ask you a few questions and sniff the air. If the officer suspects you've been drinking or doing drugs, you may be asked to give a breath sample. You will do this by blowing into a device.
Canadian police measure how much alcohol is in your blood using two types of breath-testing machines. On the road, the officer likely uses an approved screen device (ASD) to decide whether you have had enough alcohol to require you to take a breathalyzer test, which is more precise.
If you can't blow into the ASD for some reason, the officer may be able to get a warrant for a blood sample. It is against the law to refuse to provide a breath or blood sample without a good excuse. So if you are like most people pulled over, you will blow into the ASD.
If the ASD warning light goes on, the amount of alcohol in your blood is over the legal limit. Right away, the officer may suspend your licence for a short period and your vehicle will probably be towed away. You will be arrested, put into a cruiser and taken to the nearest police station.
At the station, you have the right to call a lawyer, who should remind you that it is a crime to refuse to give a breath or blood sample. If the sample shows you are over the legal limit, the police will charge you under the Criminal Code of Canada, take your picture and fingerprint you. You will feel like a criminal - because now you are being charged as one (you are not an actual criminal until convicted).
Once the courts decide you've been driving while impaired, the penalties are serious.
Table 1 shows provincial and territorial penalties for each kind of impaired-driving offence. Your licence will be suspended for up to 90 days. When you sign a form promising to appear in court on a certain date, you will be free to go.
When you go to court the judge can convict you, order you to pay a $1000 fine, suspend your licence for one year or longer, and may order you to perform community service.
According to the Criminal Code, you will lose your licence for a year for your first offence. The second time, you will have to spend 30 days in jail and you will lose your licence for up to five years. The third time, you will spend at least four months in prison and you may lose your licence for life (see Table 2). The province or territory will send you a letter that tells you that you've lost your licence and explains what you have to do before you can get it back. This may include a medical assessment and the use of an alcohol ignition interlock.
Think about it. Drinking and driving can give you a criminal record, a huge debt and, if you drive for a living, cost you your job. When you do get your licence back, your insurance premiums will be much higher than before. And things could be even worse.
Let's say that instead of simply being caught in a roadside check, you got in a crash that hurt or killed someone. The damage caused by the crash will haunt you for the rest of your life, and the law will also punish you. You may be charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm or impaired driving causing death. The federal Criminal Code imposes other penalties, including jail time. If someone gets hurt because of your impaired driving, you could go to jail for up to 10 years. If someone dies, you could spend the rest of your life in prison.
