Over 80, Impaired Driving, Care and Control of a Motor Vehicle while Impaired or with Blood Alcohol Over 80.

It is important to immediately obtain the advice of a lawyer should you be charged with any criminal driving offence such as:

·         Impaired driving by alcohol or drug

·         Driving Over 80

·         Driving offences causing death or bodily harm

Over 80 is a reference to the amount of alcohol in the accused person’s blood. “Over 80” is a short form for Over 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The police will determine if a person is Over 80 either through a blood test or breathalyzer test. It does not matter if you the accused person exhibits no signs of impairment. Simply having a blood alcohol level over 80 is a criminal offence.

Impaired driving charges are often based on the police officer observations of the accused person at the time of alleged driving or care and control of the motor vehicle. The Crown must prove that the accused person’s ability to operate the motor vehicle was impaired by alcohol or a drug. The manner of driving is often a basis for this charge. Physical observations also often ground these allegations such as: swaying, unsteadiness, slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, etc.

In Canada the penalty for refusing a demand is the same as being found to have been Over 80. The demand made by police must still be lawful. There are a myriad of very technical defences that can be advanced by an experienced defence lawyer in these cases.

There are severe consequences for those convicted of impaired driving/care and control or over 80 driving/care and control in Ontario. The least of most people’s worries is the minimum fine of $1000 and conviction. There is also a minimum driving prohibition/suspension of one year for first time offenders. Insurance rates will rise significantly and those convicted of alcohol related driving offences will have a criminal record. People convicted of these offences will also have to participate in an ignition interlock program and successfully complete a driver training/rehabilitation course put in place by the government. There have been some recent changes in Ontario that shorten the length of suspension from driving with proper completion of an alcohol interlock program.

Trials involving allegations of over 80 or impaired driving can be highly technical and an accused is best served with an experienced trial lawyer. Drinking and driving law is constantly changing and evolving, defending these cases requires a knowledgeable and experienced trial lawyer that stays current with the changes in the law.

In the last couple of years several changes have occurred to Canadian law and law in Ontario as it relates to drinking and driving or drug-related driving offences. For example in 2008 this area of law had a major overhaul. Some of the more interesting changes were as follows:

·         Officers were allowed to make demands upon individuals to provide screening samples or perform physical tests up to three hours after the operation of a motor vehicle (it used to be two hours).

·         Physical tests for impairment by alcohol or drugs were made compulsory to allow officers the ability to form their grounds to make demands or take further action.

·         Bodily fluid demands to test for drugs based on reasonable grounds after physical evaluation by an officer.

·         New offence of Driving Over 80 causing bodily harm created (before it was just impaired operation causing bodily harm) and Refusing to Blow after Causing Accident where bodily harm.

·         Major changes were made to limit the accused’s ability to challenge the accuracy of the breathalyser tests.

In Ontario, as of August 3^rd, 2010, a new program was put into place that allows drivers to return to driving much earlier than before after a conviction. The minimum period of time under the new program that a driver will be suspended is three months followed by nine months of driving with an ignition interlock device if the driver pleads guilty within the first 90 days of being charged.

There are currently efforts to stream these provisions into place and time limitations exist.

For detailed information about the new interlock device laws call Adam Weisberg at 416.603.3344.

Drinking and driving charges have many potential defences. Many of the defences are highly technical in nature and some may require the expert evidence of a toxicologist. Often, applications under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are brought which may lead to exclusions of evidence resulting in an acquittal. Contact Adam Weisberg at 416.603.3344 so that he can determine the best defence to put forward.