Nobody wants to have a criminal record. In order to avoid one, people who are facing an impaired driving charge for the first time would rather fight the charge than plead guilty to it. An impaired driving conviction for a first-time offender carries a mandatory minimum fine, and thus necessarily entails a criminal record, and a one year driving prohibition. But depending on your case, pleading guilty to impaired driving might allow you to start driving sooner than one year if you meet certain criteria. For that, you need to familiarize yourself with the Reduced Suspension with Ignition Interlock Program.

RIDE

What is RIDE?

RIDE stops are stops that police officers make as part of the Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere program. This article from the Ottawa Citizen is a reminder that this is the time of the year for RIDE stops (though RIDE stops may be effected at other times of the year as well). RIDE stops are much more frequent during the holiday season.

A first conviction for impaired driving carries a mandatory minimum fine of $1000 and a mandatory driving prohibition for a period of one year. Whereas the fine is inevitable, it may be possible in some situations to reduce the driving prohibition period and start driving sooner than one year. In order for that to happen you must meet the Stream A eligibility criteria.

What Is Stream A?

Stream A is a program offered by the Ministry of Transportation that allows a person to start driving well before one year. However, there are criteria that must be met in order for a person to obtain entry into Stream A. In addition, a person must plead guilty to the offence of impaired driving and the plea must take place within 90 days of the date of the offence. Thus, there is a time incentive to enter a guilty plea to an impaired driving charge as soon as possible if a person anticipates getting into the Stream A program.

In addition to the guilty plea within the requisite timeframe, there are other eligibility criteria for the Stream A program.

The criteria include but are not limited to the following:

• The impairment must be attributed to alcohol only and not to a drug or to a combination of drug and alcohol
• You were not convicted of an offence under section 255 of the Criminal Code where bodily harm or death was caused
• You were not convicted of a drive while disqualified offence under subsection 259(4) of the Criminal Code within the 5 years before your alcohol-impaired driving conviction
• You are not subject to a court order denying you the authorization to drive with an ignition interlock device during the prohibition period
• You were not subject to an ignition interlock licence condition on the date of the offence
• You have not previously been granted a reduction to 10 years of an indefinite licence suspension

Are You Eligible For Stream A?

There is no guarantee that a person will obtain admission into the Stream A program, but fulfilling the eligibility criteria increases a person’s chance.

If You Are Eligible...

If you are eligible and admitted into the Stream A program, you will be able to drive three months after you enter a guilty plea with the condition that you install in your car, for a period of nine months, an ignition interlock device that will detect the presence of alcohol. You must be willing to install the device mandated by the Ministry otherwise you cannot benefit from the Stream A program. Moreover, despite the Stream A program, you will still be prohibited from driving for a period of three months following the guilty plea with or without the interlock device.

Cannabis (Bill C-45)

In the case of drugs, the law is changing regarding marijuana. Bill C-45 legalizing marijuana was passed, legalizing marijuana. A common misconception is that because cannabis is legal, it’s ok to drive while high. That is not true. The legalization of marijuana has resulted in changes to the laws on drinking and driving and a tougher approach on fighting these charges. Legislation came into effect on December 18th, 2018. How does that affect you?

The possession and consumption of other drugs such as cocaine and heroin remains illegal.

How Does Bill C-45 Impact Impaired Driving Laws?

Approved Screening Devices

For one thing, the new laws on drinking and driving will be tougher and will allow police officers to administer tests into approved screening devices (ASD) without reasonable suspicion. An approved screening device is a small device that police officers use on the road when they stop drivers they suspect of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Up until December 18th, 2018, the law was that in order for a police officer to administer the ASD s/he had to have reasonable suspicion that the person was driving while impaired. Starting on December 18th, 2018, police officers will be able to administer those tests even without having reasonable suspicion. This gives police officers more chances to test whether or not a person is impaired even if there seems to be no basis to administer the test.

Immigration

In addition, the punishment for impaired driving cases has increased and the effect of that is that convictions for impaired driving will cause immigration issues to non Canadian citizens including a risk of deportation. If you are a permanent resident and you now get arrested for impaired driving or over 80, it is important that you seek advice from an immigration lawyer as the charge you are facing will have an impact on your immigration status.

Bolus Driving Defence

Some of these changes have eliminated some defences such as the bolus driving defence. Bolus driving is when the accused person drinks a large quantity of alcohol just before getting behind the wheel, so the alcohol was still being absorbed and, consequently, their [blood alcohol concentration] would be under 80 mg at the time of driving.

An interesting article on this issue was published in the Lawyer’s Daily, and here’s a link to that article:

https://www.thelawyersdaily.ca/articles/9770?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section

Thus, if you are facing an impaired driving charge for the first time and you are not sure whether or not you want to fight the charge, check with your lawyer if you may be eligible for a reduced suspension. If so, and if it is important for you to start driving sooner than one year, then discuss with your lawyer the possibility of pleading guilty in order to benefit from the Stream A program. Make sure you are aware of all the eligibility criteria for the program before you plead guilty and also make sure you fully understand the consequences of a guilty plea. Finally, make sure that your plea is entered within the appropriate timeframe.

For more information about the reduced suspension with ignition interlock program, please visit the Ministry of Transportation website.

Driving with an alcohol level above the legal limit is a criminal offence that may cause you to have a conviction and a criminal record. Here are some useful tips to avoid or minimize the damage caused by drinking and driving related situations.

1 - Know The Legal Limit

The fact that you have alcohol in your system while driving does not automatically mean that you have committed a criminal offence. In fact, the law allows you to drive with a certain amount of alcohol in your system. The legal limit is 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood. This legal limit is prescribed by paragraph 253 (1) (b) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

2 - Driving Below The Limit

Even if you are driving with an alcohol level in your system below the legal limit, you may still commit an offence if your ability to drive is impaired by alcohol. This offence is called impaired driving. Impaired driving is manifested in various ways such as zigzagging on the road, going from one lane to another when there is no reason to be switching lanes. Impaired driving is codified at paragraph 253(1)(a) of the Criminal Code of Canada.

3 - Avoid Driving After Consuming Alcohol

A common mistaken belief is that just a few drinks will not impair your ability to drive. This is not true. Even if you are driving with an alcohol level below the legal limit, your ability to drive may still be impaired and, if caught on the road driving while impaired, you may be charged with an offence. Also, while having a few drinks may not effect some of your capacities, this does not mean that you are safe to drive. So be careful avoid driving altogether even after having consumed just a few drinks.

4 - What To Do If You Have Been Caught Consuming Alcohol While Driving

If you decide to take the risk and to drive while your ability to drive is impaired or with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit and you are caught by the police, there are a few things you need to know. The most important thing is to REMAIN SILENT. The best thing you can do to yourself when you are caught for a drinking and driving related incident is to remain silent event if you think you have a good excuse or justification to explain the situation. Your alcohol level was bad enough to get you caught on the road while driving, it most probably won’t serve you well if you open your mouth and start talking to the police. Moreover, the smell of alcohol emanating from your breath will betray you. So minimize the damage by not saying anything that you might regret later on. You have a constitutionally protected right to remain silent and so if you choose not to talk to the police, you are entitled to do so. On the other hand, be cooperative with the police. If they ask you to perform roadside tests, comply and do the tests but do not say anything while you are doing the tests. Not complying with police orders will cause you to be charged with the offence of obstruct police and this may be added to the impaired/over 80 charge you will be dealing with. So comply while remaining silent. Finally, at the earliest occasion, talk to a lawyer. If you have a lawyer and you know his number, ask to speak to that lawyer immediately. If you do not have a lawyer, ask the police to speak to one and they should provide you with a list of lawyers you may call. Also, that list may indicate which lawyers speak French and so if your language of preference is French, make sure that you are talking to a lawyer who can give you legal advice in French.

So make sure that you don’t drive if you are under the influence of either or both alcohol and drugs. You should always make arrangements BEFORE your return as to how you will go back home. If you are celebrating at a friend’s place or a family member’s place, ask if you can stay for the night. If not, ask for a cab/Uber. And if that is not an option, ask for someone who is sober to drive you back home. The best way to avoid a drinking and driving charge is not to drive at all. You do not want the festivities of the Holiday Season to be ruined by criminal charges that are going to be difficult to get rid of and that may very likely cause you to have a criminal record.