B.C. drunk driving law could be overturned

[grumpydigger]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... ality.html The B.C. Supreme Court is expected to rule Wednesday on whether the province's tough new drunk driving law violates constitutional rights.

Described as the strictest impaired driving law in Canada, the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act's automatic roadside driving prohibition clause allows police to issue roadside suspensions, impound cars and levy fines in the hundreds of dollars for drivers with a blood alcohol level of .05 or higher.

The judge will rule whether the province overstepped its authority by enacting the law, which would render it constitutionally void.

The judge could find that B.C.'s new law is in conflict with existing federal criminal law relating to drunk driving and blood alcohol levels of 0.08 or higher.

The judge could also find that B.C.'s law leads to a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because the law gives too much power to the roadside police and allows for no appeal mechanism.

The decision would have immediate implications for other provinces in the process of enacting similar legislation.

Last week, the Alberta legislature tabled a bill that would allow police to immediately suspend the licence of anyone caught driving with blood alcohol content over .05. The penalties include the power to keep licence suspensions in place for people caught with more than .08 of blood alcohol content until their cases are dealt with in court.

Alberta's solicitor general had previously said that the province might not copy B.C.'s law, in which police can immediately suspend a licence for three days and impound the vehicle on a first offence if the driver blows over .05 per cent. Alberta presently makes use of the criminal code bar of .08 per cent blood alcohol level.
Unpopular, but effective

B.C. defence lawyers have derided the law, and bar owners and restaurateurs have complained it scares away patrons or impacts their money.

The government promised to revisit the legislation or ease up on the extent to which the regulations were being applied. But it backed off from those assurances when statistics started to show the law was saving lives.

Last week, the government said the number of deaths in alcohol-related crashes had dropped 40 per cent in a year.

But some lawyers have fought back in court, arguing the province is intruding on federal jurisdiction, since the Criminal Code sets the blood alcohol limit at .08.

The case the court will rule on was prompted by a petition filed by Philip A. Riddell, lawyer for Aman Preet Sivia, who was stopped about 10 days after the law came into effect in September 2010.

Sivia was found to be in excess of the .05 blood alcohol restriction and was issued a driving prohibition at the roadside by a police officer.

Sivia applied to the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles for a review of the officers decision, but was denied.

[toughnut]

I like the current system but firmly beleive it should be .08 and higher.I dont think at .05-.0799 a person should be subject to the 3day suspention and 600$ in costs.

[Katfish1]

I like the current system but firmly beleive it should be .08 and higher.I dont think at .05-.0799 a person should be subject to the 3day suspention and 250$ in costs.

I agree on this too...it should be 0 tolerance or 0.08....
my boyfriend blew a fail...the cop asks if he wants to know what he blew "off the record", was 0.07
truck impunded 1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
and an ignorant cop trying to make him react....

[Rwede]

I like the current system but firmly beleive it should be .08 and higher.I dont think at .05-.0799 a person should be subject to the 3day suspention and 250$ in costs.

I agree on this too...it should be 0 tolerance or 0.08....
my boyfriend blew a fail...the cop asks if he wants to know what he blew "off the record", was 0.07
truck impunded 1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
and an ignorant cop trying to make him react....

Your BF was stupid for driving after boozing. Don't blame the cop - he wasn't the one pouring the drinks down your BF's throat, was he?

[toughnut]

I like the current system but firmly beleive it should be .08 and higher.I dont think at .05-.0799 a person should be subject to the 3day suspention and 250$ in costs.

I agree on this too...it should be 0 tolerance or 0.08....
my boyfriend blew a fail...the cop asks if he wants to know what he blew "off the record", was 0.07
truck impunded 1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
and an ignorant cop trying to make him react....

Your mixed up on this deal or your boyfriend lied to you.A`reading between .05 and .0799 is 3 day suspention and around 250$ in impound costs.Thats it.So Either he was way over .08 or this was his third WARN.
read my lips!!!
HE DID NOT GET THE ;1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
BASED ON A .07 READING This simply did not happen no matter what you think or say

[Katfish1]

I like the current system but firmly beleive it should be .08 and higher.I dont think at .05-.0799 a person should be subject to the 3day suspention and 250$ in costs.

I agree on this too...it should be 0 tolerance or 0.08....
my boyfriend blew a fail...the cop asks if he wants to know what he blew "off the record", was 0.07
truck impunded 1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
and an ignorant cop trying to make him react....

Your BF was stupid for driving after boozing. Don't blame the cop - he wasn't the one pouring the drinks down your BF's throat, was he?

you are correct, he was wrong for drinking and driving, I 100% agree with you.
but the cop really didn'tt need to be ignorant, but its going around these day! apparently

[Katfish1]

I like the current system but firmly beleive it should be .08 and higher.I dont think at .05-.0799 a person should be subject to the 3day suspention and 250$ in costs.

I agree on this too...it should be 0 tolerance or 0.08....
my boyfriend blew a fail...the cop asks if he wants to know what he blew "off the record", was 0.07
truck impunded 1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
and an ignorant cop trying to make him react....

Your mixed up on this deal or your boyfriend lied to you.A`reading between .05 and .0799 is 3 day suspention and around 250$ in impound costs.Thats it.So Either he was way over .08 or this was his third WARN.
read my lips!!!
HE DID NOT GET THE ;1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
BASED ON A .07 READING This simply did not happen no matter what you think or say

I am not mixed up.

I WAS THERE, he was never stopped before either. 1st offence, although the cop stated he was sure he had dealt with him beofre, he also asked where he got the girls because my friend and I must look like a bunch of hookers apparently. Which I can assure you I don't.
but you must know everything....
and as we all know, police are always right(and people in these forums), or maybe he was trying to prove something to his ride along

[Rwede]

I like the current system but firmly beleive it should be .08 and higher.I dont think at .05-.0799 a person should be subject to the 3day suspention and 250$ in costs.

I agree on this too...it should be 0 tolerance or 0.08....
my boyfriend blew a fail...the cop asks if he wants to know what he blew "off the record", was 0.07
truck impunded 1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
and an ignorant cop trying to make him react....

Your mixed up on this deal or your boyfriend lied to you.A`reading between .05 and .0799 is 3 day suspention and around 250$ in impound costs.Thats it.So Either he was way over .08 or this was his third WARN.
read my lips!!!
HE DID NOT GET THE ;1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
BASED ON A .07 READING This simply did not happen no matter what you think or say

I am not mixed up.

I WAS THERE, he was never stopped before either. 1st offence, although the cop stated he was sure he had dealt with him beofre, he also asked where he got the girls because my friend and I must look like a bunch of hookers apparently. Which I can assure you I don't.
but you must know everything....
and as we all know, police are always right(and people in these forums), or maybe he was trying to prove something to his ride along

Why didn't you drive since your BF had been boozing?

[toughnut]

I like the current system but firmly beleive it should be .08 and higher.I dont think at .05-.0799 a person should be subject to the 3day suspention and 250$ in costs.

I agree on this too...it should be 0 tolerance or 0.08....
my boyfriend blew a fail...the cop asks if he wants to know what he blew "off the record", was 0.07
truck impunded 1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
and an ignorant cop trying to make him react....

Your mixed up on this deal or your boyfriend lied to you.A`reading between .05 and .0799 is 3 day suspention and around 250$ in impound costs.Thats it.So Either he was way over .08 or this was his third WARN.
read my lips!!!
HE DID NOT GET THE ;1 month $700+ dollars to get it out, a year suspension needing breathalyzer(sp) device,
about $5000 later.
BASED ON A .07 READING This simply did not happen no matter what you think or say

I am not mixed up.

I WAS THERE, he was never stopped before either. 1st offence, although the cop stated he was sure he had dealt with him beofre, he also asked where he got the girls because my friend and I must look like a bunch of hookers apparently. Which I can assure you I don't.
but you must know everything....
and as we all know, police are always right(and people in these forums), or maybe he was trying to prove something to his ride along

Listen please?? Your boyfriend did NOT GET the above fines,impounds, suspentions etc that you continue to claim he did based on a .07 reading.It just did not happen.He had to be over .08.Every COP,JUDGE and LAWYER knows thats the law
I can not for the life of me figure out wh u keep posting that he got all this stuff based on a .07 reading?? it simply put did not happen the way u claim.

[toughnut]

Look I hate to rag on and on about these situations and Iam not sticking up for any COP.Never have and never will but when people post absolute BS on here I take exception to that.Go get the facts before posting crap please

[Katfish1]

*try reposting without so many nested quotations/Jo*

[Bagotricks]

If I'm losing my car and license for 90 days - it is not a "administrative punishment".

I should be charged in court and have the ability to defend myself.

The polices job is to bring you to court, not to pass judgment. "Mood of the police officer" should not be a factor in the justice system.

When they start cracking down on lack-of-sleep, I will buy the 0.05 argument that 0.05 drivers are killing people.

Hopefully they tweak this to reflect my opinions.

[Rwede]

your the expert I guess....but you are WRONG in this case....
why is their no actual number of what he blew on the ticket? why was it shown only off the record??
I don't care what you think really....
also, blowing 0.08 is a criminal charge, which he did not get. IF he blew over that he would have a criminal charge....

They don't write your speed on a speeding ticket. Why should they write your BAL on an impaired ticket?

Still wondering why you didn't drive that night instead of him.

[grumpydigger]

The Supreme Court of British Columbia have deemed many of the new .05 driving laws Unconstitutional.........

I really hate to think Of the lawsuits that are going to come from this...........And we got nobody to blame but the Liberal government http://www.globaltvbc.com/parts+of+bcs+ ... story.html

[Dizzy1]

Welcome to BC ...