Impaired driving - Driver Education

Impaired driving, which means driving when your ability is affected by alcohol or drugs, is a crime in Canada. If you are impaired, you can be convicted of several offences under the Criminal Code of Canada. Your vehicle does not even have to be moving; you can be charged if you are impaired behind the wheel, even if you have not started to drive.

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Alcohol

Illustration of no drinking and driving sign

Drinking and driving is a deadly combination.

All drivers, especially inexperienced drivers, must be able to concentrate on driving. That’s why the graduated licensing system does not allow new drivers to drink any alcohol when they are going to drive.

Even one drink can reduce your ability to concentrate, to watch out for and react to things that happen suddenly when you are driving. With more alcohol in your blood, you could have trouble judging distances and your vision may become blurred. Factors like fatigue, your mood, and how long ago you ate and how much, can make a difference in how alcohol affects your driving ability.

The police have the right to stop any driver they suspect is impaired. They may also do roadside spot checks. When you are stopped by the police, you may be told to blow into a machine that tests your breath for alcohol — a roadside screening device. If you refuse, you will be charged under the Criminal Code. The police will also notify the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and your licence will be suspended immediately for 90 days.

If the reading on the machine shows you have been drinking, you may be taken to a police station for a breathalyser test. The breathalyser uses your breath to measure the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream.

If you cannot give a breath sample for some reason, the police officer can ask you to let a doctor take a blood sample instead. If you are injured and cannot give your consent, a justice of the peace may authorize a doctor to take a blood sample.

The maximum legal blood alcohol concentration for fully licensed drivers is 80 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood (.08). Any more than .08 is against the law.

If your reading is less than .08 but .05 or more, or if you register ‘warn’ on a roadside screening device, the police can suspend your licence for 12 hours. This keeps you from driving until your blood alcohol level drops. You must give your licence to the police officer on demand. The police will tell you when the 12-hour suspension will end and where to get your licence back. Meanwhile, if there is no one else available to drive and no safe place to park your vehicle, it will be towed at your expense.

If your blood alcohol concentration is more than 80 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood (.08), you will be charged under the Criminal Code. The police will also notify the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and your licence will be suspended immediately for 90 days. Even if your blood alco-hol concentration is less than .08, you can still be charged with impaired driving under the Criminal Code.

Level One and Level Two drivers must have a blood alcohol level of zero when driving. New drivers caught drinking and driving will get a 30-day suspension for violating a condition of their Level One or Level Two licence. They can also be charged under the Criminal Code.

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Drugs

Any drug that changes your mood or the way you see and feel about the world around you will affect the way you drive. The Criminal Code and HTA suspensions apply to drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Illegal drugs such as marijuana and cocaine are not the only problem. Some drugs that your doctor may prescribe for you and some over-the-counter drugs can also impair your driving. Here are some points you should remember:

If you use prescription medicines or get allergy shots, ask your doctor about side effects such as dizziness, blurred vision, nausea or drowsiness that could affect your driving.
Read the information on the package of any over-the-counter medicine you take. Any stimulant, diet pill, tranquillizer or sedative may affect your driving. Even allergy and cold remedies may have ingredients that could affect your driving.
Drugs and alcohol together can have dangerous effects, even several days after you have taken the drug. Do not take a chance — ask your doctor or pharmacist.

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Consider the consequences

Having your licence suspended is not the only cost of impaired driving. Depending on whether it is your first, second, third or fourth offence, you can be fined, sent to jail for up to five years and prohibited from driving for the rest of your life.

For impaired driving that causes injury or death, the penalties are even more severe. If you are convicted of impaired driving causing bodily harm, you may be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. Impaired driving causing death can carry a sentence of up to 14 years in prison.

If you have been drinking and driving and are involved in a collision, your insurance company may not have to pay for damage to your vehicle. If you are injured in the collision, your medical and rehabilitation costs may not be covered.

If you drive for a living, a licence suspension could mean losing your job. And when you do get your licence back, you may find your insurance costs 50 to 100 per cent more for at least three years.