Overview
Impaired Driving In Canada it is a crime to operate (or have care and control of) a motor vehicle while your ability to drive is impaired by alcohol. It is a separate crime to operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration over 80 milligrams. It is yet another crime to refuse a properly made breath demand.
In British Columbia, if you are charged with either of the over 80 milligrams or refusal offenses, you will have a 90 day Administrative Driving Prohibition imposed on you almost immediately. If you wish to challenge this prohibition, you must comply with strict timelines. Contact an experienced criminal lawyer immediately.
Even if this is your first offense, if you plead guilty or are convicted of any one of these charges, in addition to the Administrative Driving Prohibition, you will face both a minimum $600 fine and further one year court-ordered driving prohibition. You will also have a criminal record.
Much longer driving prohibitions and jail sentences can be imposed if this was not your first offense, or if someone was injured or killed.
How We Can Help
We have had numerous clients think they were guilty because there was an accident, or the breathalyzer readings were over 80, or because they did not provide breath samples. That is often not the case.
We will careful analyze the details of your situation using our years of experience and detailed legal precedents. Were the proper procedures followed by the authorities? Were any impaired driving "symptoms" due to other causes such as fatigue, allergies, medication etc.? Was your blood alcohol content too high while driving, or only at the time the breath test was taken? These are only a few of the numerous issues we will look into.
Unless the police followed strict guidelines, the breathalyzer readings are not admissible against you. And if those guidelines weren't followed, you may have been justified in failing to blow.
No matter how bad you think your case looks, it's worth letting us take a look at it.