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TP 1535 E

Driving Impaired Makes You a Criminal

Every year thousands of Canadians are killed or injured in alcohol-related crashes. It should come as no surprise to anyone that impaired driving is a criminal offence in Canada. An impaired driving offence is not like a traffic ticket. If you are charged, you will have to go to court. If you are convicted, you will have a criminal record.

In addition, the provinces and territories use their authority over driver licensing to supplement the provisions of the Criminal Code. These are the two sets of laws concerned with impaired driving. Both come into play when a drinking and driving offence has been committed. Together, they provide a powerful tag team to deal effectively with impaired drivers.

It's the Law of the Land

It doesn’t matter if your vehicle is on the street or on private property. Your vehicle doesn’t even have to be moving. The impaired driving laws apply to all motor vehicles, including snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, boats and aircraft.

Since 1969, police officers in Canada have used breath-testing devices to determine the BAC of drivers they suspect have been drinking. There are two types of these devices. The first, known as approved screening devices (ASDs), are often used by officers to determine whether a driver has consumed a sufficient quantity of alcohol to warrant further testing at the police station. The second type of device (often referred to as a breathalyser) provides an accurate determination of a person’s BAC to be used as evidence in court. If you are unable to provide a breath sample, the officer can (in certain situations) obtain a warrant to have a qualified medical practitioner take a blood sample for analysis. It is an offence for a driver to refuse, without a reasonable excuse, to provide a breath or blood sample.

The penalties for impaired driving are severe, reflecting the gravity of the offence. Table 1 lists the offences and the minimum and maximum penalties associated with each. Note that the penalties become increasingly severe with repeated convictions. In addition, judges have considerable discretion in setting terms of probation, and offenders may be required to seek treatment for alcohol abuse, perform community service or provide restitution to victims.

If, while driving impaired, you are involved in a crash that results in an injury or death, you can be charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm or impaired driving causing death. These are more serious charges that carry more severe penalties.

Provincial/Territorial Laws

For many years, each province and territory in Canada has imposed licence suspensions on drivers convicted of an impaired driving offence. In most cases, a first conviction will result in a suspension of 12 months. For a third offence, some provinces now suspend the driver’s licence for life. In addition, some jurisdictions require offenders to pay a reinstatement fee, complete an alcohol assessment and/or attend a rehabilitation program to become relicensed.

Many provinces have also passed immediate licence suspension laws. These laws allow a police officer to suspend your driver’s licence for up to 90 days for failing a breath test or refusing to provide a breath or blood sample. Depending on the province, the suspension takes effect immediately or within a few days.

In most provinces, drivers who blow a "warn" signal on an approved screening device can have their licence suspended for up to 24 hours.

A Powerful One-Two Punch

Together, the federal and provincial/territorial laws provide a powerful combination of penalties that should deter most people from ever driving after drinking. Police spot checks are commonplace and are no longer restricted to the year-end holiday season. Every year, the police charge approximately 80,000 drivers with impaired driving offences as a result of routine patrols, spot-check programs, citizen reports and crash investigations.

Table 1 - Provincial/Territorial Countermeasure Initiatives

a. Includes all novice drivers.  
b. Licence action in this category exists for novice drivers only.     
c. Reducible to 10 years.     
d. Given Royal Assent December 3, 1998.     
e. Category "A" offences only (driving while impaired, driving over .08, refusal to provide sample). Greater penalties exist in this category for Failure to Provide a Breath Sample.     
f.  Category "B" offences only (driving while impaired causing death or bodily harm).    
g. Fourth offence = lifetime ban.     
h. Pending.     
i.  Figures listed in this column represent only minimum penalties.
j.  A 24-hour vehicle impoundment now accompinies the 24-hour roadside suspension.
* Countermeasure initiatives are subject to change without notice.

Table 2 - Criminal Code Penalties for Impaired Driving Offences*

* The Criminal Code's driving prohibition is distinct from any driver licence suspension that a province/territory may impose. Under the Criminal Code, an offender may be authorized to drive during the remainder of the prohibition period, provided the offender is registered in a provincial/territorial ignition interlock device program. The start date may be set by a judge as follows: 

• 1^st offence - after at least 3 months of the driving prohibition has been served;

• 2^nd offence - after at least 6 months of the driving prohibition has been served;

• 3^rd offence - after at least 12 months of the driving prohibition has been served.

** Mandatory penalties in addition to prohibition from driving are as follows: 

• 1^st offence - $600 minimum fine; 

• 2^nd offence - minimum 14 days imprisonment; 

• 3^rd offence - minimum 90 days imprisonment.