duiMy essay is on “Drinking and Driving Offences”. In my essay I will tell you the various kinds of drinking and driving offences, the penalties, and the defences you can make if you are caught drinking and driving. Let me tell you about the different offences. There are six offences in drinking and driving. They are “driving while impaired”,”Having care and control of a vehicle while impaired”, “Driving whileexceeding 80 m.
g. “, “Having care and control of a vehicle while exceeding80 m. g. “, “Refusing to give a breath sample”, and “refusing to submit to aroadside screen test. These are all Criminal Code Offences. Now lets talk about the penalties of drinking and driving.
Thesentence for “refusing to give a breath sample” is usually higher than either of the “exceeding 80 m. g. ” offences. Consequently it is usuallyeasier in the long run for you to give a breath sample if asked. If, forexample you are convicted of “Refusing ato give a breath sample” for thefirst time, but was earlier convicted of “Driving while impaired”, yourconviction for “Refusing” will count as a second conviction, not a first,and will receive the stiffer penalty for second offences. For the first offence here is the penalty and the defences you canmake.
Driving a vehicle while your ability to drive is impaired by alcoholor drugs is one of the offences. Evidence of your condition can be used toconvict you. This can include evidence of your general conduct, speech, ability to walk a straight line or pick up objects. The penalty of thefirst offences is a fine of $50.
00 to $2000. 00 and/or imprisonment of up tosix months, and automatic suspension of licence for 3 months. The secondoffence penalty is imprisonment for 14 days to 1 year and automaticsuspension of licence for 6 months. The third offence penalty isimprisonment for 3 months to 2 years (or more) and automatic suspension oflicence for six months. These penalties are the same for the following”Having Care and Control of a Motor Vehicle while Impaired” isanother offence. Having care and control of a vehicle does not requirethat you be driving it.
Occupying the driver’s seat, even if you did nothave the keys, is sufficient. Walking towards the car with the keys couldbe sufficient. Some defences are you were not impaired, or you did not havecare and control because you were not in the driver’s seat, did not havethe keys, etc. It is not a defence that you registered below 80 m.
g. onthe breathayzer test. Having care and control depends on all circumstances. “Driving While Exceeding 80 m. g.
is the next offence. Driving avehicle, having consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the proportion ofalcohol in your blood exceeds 80 miligrams of alcohol in 100 mililitres ofblood. Some defences are the test was administered improperly, or thebreathalyzer machine was not functioning properly. “Having Care and control of a Motor Vehicle while Exceeding 80m.
g. ” is the next offence I will talk about. This offence means havingcare and control of a vehicle whether it is in motion or not, havingconsumed alcohol in such a quantity that the proportion of alcohol in yourblood exceeds 80 miligrams of alcohol in 100 mililitres of blood. Thedefences are the test was administered improperly, or the breathalyzermachine was not functioning properly. To defend against breathalyzerevidence you must understand how the test should be administered. Theproper procedure for a breathalyzer test is as follows.
Warming up themachine until the thermometer registers 50 degrees centigrade. This shouldtake at least 10 minutes. The machine should then be turned to zero (byusing the “adjust zero control”) and a comparison ampoulel (of normal air)inserted. if the metre remains at zero, the test can proceed. An ampoulewith a standard solution is then inserted. If the metre reads high or lowby more than .
02% on two successive tests, the machine should not be used. If the trial is valid, the machine should be flushed with room air and thepointer set at start. You will then be asked to provide two breath samples,about fifteen minutes apart. Normally they will take the result of thelowest result and use it as evidence against you.
“Refusing to Give a Breath Sample” means refusing without areasonable excuse to give a sample or refusing without a reasonable excuseto accompany a polic officer, when demanded by the police officer. Beforedemanding by the police officer, he must have reasonable and probable grounds to believe that you are committing or at any time in the preceedingtwo hours have committed, one of the offences of driving or having care andcontrol of a vehicle while impaired or while having a blood alcohol levelin excess of 80 m. g. You can refuse to give a breath sample until you havecommunicated in private with your lawyer even if this takes you beyond thetwo hour period, unless it is shown that your request for a lawyer was notgenuine and merely to delay the testing.
The test can be done after thetwo hour period, but a technician must testify in court as to what yourblood alcohol would have been in the two hour period. You cannot refuse toaccompany the officer until you see your lawyer. You can argue that theofficer didn’t have reasonable and probable grounds to suspect you, butthis however depends on the circumstances. “Refusing to submit to a Roadside Screening Test” is the lastoffense.
When you commit this offense you are refusing without reasonableexcuse to give a breath sample for a roadside screening device, or refusingwithout reasonable excuse to accompany a police officer for the purposes ofgiving such a sample, when demanded by an officer. Before the officerdemands a breathalyzer he must reasonably suspect that you have alcohol inThe maximum penalties for impaired driving causing bodily harm to someone is up to 10 years in prison and up to a 10 year prohabition fromdriving. The maximum penalties for impaired driving causing death is up to14 years and a 10 year prohabition from driving. The maximum penalty formanslaughter and criminal negligence causing death is up to life in prisonand up to a lifetime prohabition from driving. I think that these penalties for all the drinking and driving offences are very appropriate, but I think impaired driving causing deathshould be a lifetime imprisonment.
Also if a person is impaired and causesbodily harm to some one they should have their licence suspended from himBIBLIOGRAPHYHighway Traffic Law, (Copyright January 1986: Community Legal EducationGovernment Document, Canada Law Reform Commision Report on InvestigativeTests: Aclohol, Drugs, and Driving Offences (1983). Erwin,Richard E. M. Bender ,Defence of Drunk Driving Cases, Criminal CivilPurich, Donald John, Drinking and Driving:What To Do If Your Caught(International Self Counsel Pr. 1978) p.22-25Verticle File at Hill Crest Library, Drinking and Driving-Offences andsVerticle File at Hill Crest Liabrary, Criminal Code-Part 6 (1989), sectionVerticle File at Hill Crest Library, HighWay Trafic (1989), section 26Bibliography:
