It's an offence to drink and drive, period

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PRO BONO

Dear Tuma:

What is the difference between "Driving While Impaired" and "Driving Over .8"? What are the penalties for drinking and driving anyway?

Hitchhiking Now

Dear Hitchhiking:

If you have been stopped for drinking and driving, you may be charged with up to four offences: Impaired driving, driving while over .80, failure to blow into a roadside screening device (ALERT) or failure to blow into the approved instrument at a police station (breathalyzer).

Section 253 of the Criminal Code of Canada has two parts to it: (a) impaired driving and (b) driving with a blood alcohol level of over .80 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood. Often, police will charge a person with both counts and that person may be convicted on one or both counts.

The punishment depends on whether the Crown will proceed by summary or indictable offences.

There are three parts to the potential punishment. A criminal conviction will result in a fine and/or some jail time (either house arrest or in the slammer) depending on the circumstances of the case. The second part is where your particular provincial license registry revokes your license. Finally, the third part is when your insurance company finds out about your conviction (and they will find out).

In all provinces, a person may be fined between $600 and $2,000. The judge may also impose a jail sentence of between 14 days and six months under a summary offence. Under an indictable offense, the jail term can be up to five years. I will use my province of Nova Scotia to illustrate what the punishment can be and note that each province may have different rules.

In Nova Scotia, a first offence will also result in your license being suspended for one year, a second offence-three years, third time-10 years, any other further times-well, you should just sell your car and buy a bicycle.

You should note that even if you blow less than .80, you can still be charged with impaired driving. One small drink can make you impaired. Also, you can still be charged with impaired driving even if you are not drinking but are using drugs and this may include legal prescription drugs, especially if they cause you to become impaired.

As if this was not punishment enough, the worse ouch may come when your insurance company finds out. If you are still lucky enough to obtain insurance after they find out, the price you will pay for insurance will be very steep, for you will now be classified as a very high-risk driver.

So if you drink, don't drive! If you drive, don't drink!

Tuma

This column is not intended to provide legal advice, but rather highlight situations where you should consult with a lawyer. Questions can be sent to Tuma Young@yahoo.ca