The days of lockdowns and COVID restrictions seem to be behind us now. Check stops and Sobriety check points are appearing more and more. Drinking and driving is being cracked down on. While you might have been able to sneak by with one drink these are the facts when it comes to driving impaired.
Alcohol and drug related driving prohibitions and suspensions
Alcohol- and drug-affected driving are leading causes of death on the roads. Police are trained to recognize the effects of alcohol and drugs on drivers. Police remove drivers from the road by issuing driving prohibitions and licence suspensions. Learn more about them here.
12-hour suspensions apply to Graduated Licensing Program participants only.
If a Graduated Licensing Program driver has any alcohol, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis) or cocaine in their body, they may be served with a 12-hour suspension.
What happens
- You must surrender your licence. You must not drive until your suspension is over and you have recovered your licence from the police.
- After your suspension is over, you’ll start your 24-month (N) licensing period over.
- If you’re a learner (L) you must reattempt all testing.
Other consequences
- RoadSafetyBC will review your driving record and may add prohibitions. For more information, visit Driver Improvement Program.
- You’ll face the consequences of a fully licensed driver, if:
- You have a blood alcohol content (BAC) not less than 50 milligrams (mg) of alcohol in 100 millilitres (mL) of blood (0.05 BAC), or
- You’re affected by drugs
For more information, visit Driving while affected by drugs or alcohol.
Police can issue a 24-hour prohibition if:
- They have reasonable grounds to believe alcohol or drugs have affected your ability to operate a motor vehicle, and
- You had care or control of a vehicle
What happens
- You must surrender your licence. You can only recover it when your prohibition ends.
- Your prohibition starts as soon as you’re served your Notice of Driving Prohibition. It’s effective for a full 24 hours.
- Police will send a copy of your prohibition notice to ICBC. The prohibition will remain on your record permanently. RoadSafetyBC may consider it in a review of your driving record. A review may result in additional sanctions under the Driver Improvement Program.
- Police don’t have to request:
- A breath sample using an approved screening device to determine your blood alcohol concentration, or
- A driver to submit to a physical coordination test
- If you believe alcohol has not affected your ability to drive, you can ask police to test your blood alcohol content on an approved screening device
- If you believe a drug has not affected your ability to drive, you can ask police for a prescribed physical coordination test
Other consequences
- Police may choose to impound your vehicle for 24 hours. You can’t appeal an impoundment. You must pay all towing and storage costs to get it back.
- RoadSafetyBC may consider your 24-hour driving prohibition in a review of your driving record. A review may result in additional sanctions under the Driver Improvement Program.
- If you have three 24-hour prohibitions, we may need you to take part in the Responsible Driver Program, the Ignition Interlock Program or both.
Police can issue a 3-, 7-, 30- or 90-day prohibition if they find that alcohol has affected your ability to drive.
Police can demand a driver provide a breath sample on an approved screening device if:
- You had driven or had care or control of a vehicle,
- They have reason to suspect you have alcohol in your body, or
- They have an approved screening device readily available.
If you provide a breath sample that results in a Notice of Prohibition, Police must offer you a second opportunity to give a sample. Your second breath sample must be into a different approved screening device. If the two results differ, the lower result prevails.
What happens
If the device reads Warn your sample shows a blood-alcohol content of not less than 0.05, police may:
- Take your licence
- Issue you a Notice of Driving Prohibition. Your prohibition starts right away. Its length depends on previous prohibitions. You’ll get a:
- 3-day prohibition if it’s the first time in the Warn range
- 7-day driving prohibition if it’s your second time in the Warn range within five years
- 30-day driving prohibition if it’s your third time in the Warn range within five years
If the device reads Fail your sample shows a blood-alcohol content of not less than 80 milligrams, police may:
- Take your licence
- Issue you a Notice of Driving Prohibition. Your prohibition starts right away. You must not drive for 90 days.
Or police may choose to:
- Serve you an Administrative Driving Prohibition, or
- Charge you with impaired driving under the Criminal Code
For more information, visit Immediate Roadside prohibition penalties.
Other consequences
- 3 and 7-day prohibitions – Police may impound your vehicle.
- 30 or 90-day prohibitions – Police must impound your vehicle for 30 days.
- RoadSafetyBC may require you to take part in the:
- The Ignition Interlock Program, or
- Responsible Driver Program
Police may serve you with an administrative driving prohibition if:
- Your blood alcohol concentration was equal to or greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood
- Your blood drug concentration was equal to or greater than the amount prescribed in the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations for that drug within two hours of operating a vehicle
- Your combined blood alcohol and drug concentration was equal to or greater than the amount prescribed under the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations where alcohol and that drug are combined within two hours of operating a motor vehicle
Police may also serve you with an administrative driving prohibition if you:
- Operated a vehicle while your ability to operate it was impaired by a drug or a combination of alcohol and a drug as determined by a drug recognition expert
- Failed or refused without a reasonable excuse to follow a demand under section 320.27 or section 320.28 of the Criminal Code regarding the operation of a motor vehicle
Evaluation methods
Blood drug and blood alcohol concentrations
Prescribed blood drug concentrations (BDC) for an administrative driving prohibition served under s.94.1 (a.1)ItemDrugConcentration1Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)5ng/mL of blood2Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)Any detectable level3PsilocybinAny detectable level4PsilocinAny detectable level5Phencyclidine (PCP)Any detectable level 6MonoacetylmorphineAny detectable level 7KetamineAny detectable level 8CocaineAny detectable level 9Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB)5mg/L of blood10MethamphetamineAny detectable level Combined Prescribed Blood Drug Concentrations & Blood Alcohol Concentrations for an ADP served under s.94.1 (a.2)DrugAlcohol ConcentrationDrug ConcentrationTetrahydrocannabinol (THC)50 mg/100 mL of blood2.5 ng/mL of blood
Drug Recognition Expert evaluation for an administrative driving prohibition served under s.94.1 (a.3)
An evaluation conducted by a Drug Recognition Expert is:
- Measuring your pulse and determining that your pupils are the same size and that your eyes track an object equally
- Eye examinations, which comprise:
- The horizontal gaze nystagmus test
- The vertical gaze nystagmus test
- The vertical gaze nystagmus test
- The lack-of-convergence test
- Divided-attention tests, which comprise:
- The Romberg balance test
- The walk-and-turn test
- The one-leg stand test
- The finger-to-nose test, which includes the test subject tilting the head back and touching the tip of their index finger to the tip of their nose in a specified manner while keeping their eyes closed
- An examination, which comprises measuring the blood pressure, temperature and pulse
- An examination of pupil sizes under light levels of ambient light, near total darkness and direct light and an examination of the nasal and oral cavities
- An examination, which comprises checking the muscle tone and pulse
- A visual examination of the arms, neck and, if exposed, the legs for evidence of injection sites
Other consequences
- If you’re charged under the Criminal Code, you must attend court
- If you’re convicted, you will face other criminal conviction driving prohibitions
- You must also pay a Driver Risk Premium
Immediate Roadside prohibition Penalities
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Please note: The costs above are subject to change and do not include taxes. Drivers may also be referred to remedial programs which may result in more fees.
- Based on 10km tow distance of a standard size vehicle. Greater distances and oversized vehicles will result in higher fees. 2. Does not include potential increases in insurance premiums. 3. Within five years.
It’s a Criminal Code offence to drive when your ability to do so is impaired by alcohol, drugs or both.
It is also a criminal offence to drive with:
- More than 0.08 blood alcohol content, or
- A blood-drug concentration equal to or greater than a prescribed value
All this information can be found on
Wow! That’s a lot of information. If you drink you risk you life, others lives, major costs, losing your license, having your car impaired, getting a criminal record.
Imagine not having a vehicle to get to work, the grocery store. Imagine having a criminal record and losing out on a job opportunity or not being able to travel outside of Canada. Ask yourself was driving home after having a glass or two of wine worth it. There are always options.
Hire a designated driver, call a taxi, book a safe ride home, grab an uber, call a friend.
MyDDride is open 24/7 to provide you and your vehicle a safe ride home. You don’t need to drink and drive if you want to get your vehicle home.
Unfortunately we still have people that haven’t figured this out yet and if you get caught drinking and driving and need to have your vehicle picked up from the impound lot too give us a call. We will drive you and your vehicle home from the impound lot while you wait the 90 days to be able to drive you car again.