QUICK TAKEAWAY
Impaired Driving (Youth): The Department of Justice (DoJ) reports that many traffic accidents involving young drivers are caused by inexperience and poor judgment and when it comes to drugs or alcohol, there is no safe limit. It is a crime under s.320.14 (1) of the Criminal Code to have a blood alcohol concentration of .08 per cent or more, or to be impaired by narcotics. There are no mandatory penalties for offenders for impaired driving under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA). However, impaired driving could result in an automatic licence suspension, a fine or jail time. Impaired driving causing bodily harm carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years while those convicted of impaired driving causing death can be imprisoned for life. While impaired driving is a Criminal Code charge, enforcement, apprehension, prosecution and the application of penalties fall within provincial and territorial authority. Many jurisdictions have a zero-tolerance policy for impaired driving for youth with penalties that differ in each province or territory.
Table of Contents:
What is Impaired Driving?
The DoJ reports (Impaired Driving Laws) that impaired driving is the leading criminal cause of death and injury in Canada. More than 69,000 impaired driving incidents were reported by the police, including almost 3,500 drug-impaired driving incidents in 2017.
According to MADD Canada (Youth and Impaired Driving,) traffic accidents continue to be teenagers' leading cause of death.
- Young people have the highest traffic death and injury per capita rates among all age groups and the highest death rate per kilometre driven among all drivers under 75 years of age.
- More 19-year-olds die or are seriously injured than any other age group.
- Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among those 16 to 25, and alcohol and/or drugs are a factor in 55 percent of those crashes.
- Those 16 to 25 made up 13.6 percent of the population in 2010 but resulted in almost 33.4 percent of the impaired-related traffic deaths.
The DoJ states that your brain needs to be alert and focused when driving, and even small amounts of a drug can affect your attention, judgment, motor skills, reaction time, decision-making skills, balance, and coordination.
If you operate a vehicle impaired by alcohol, a drug, or a combination of both, you can be charged. You are considered impaired if you have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent.
With the introduction of legalized marijuana, the government enacted "stronger laws to deter and detect those who drive while impaired by alcohol and drugs, including cannabis," according to the Department of Justice.
The DoJ states the new law has three main elements to address drug-impaired driving:
- It creates new criminal offences of being at or over a prohibited blood drug concentration for certain impairing drugs, including THC and cocaine, within two hours of driving.
- It authorizes the police to use approved drug screening equipment, such as oral fluid drug screeners to detect the presence of impairing drugs in drivers.
- It strengthens the existing legal framework to enhance the investigation and prosecution of driving while impaired by a drug.
According to the 2014-15 Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, which polled students in grades 7 to 12, five percent reported driving a vehicle within two hours of cannabis use, while 15 percent reported being a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone who had used cannabis in the previous two hours.
There are two prohibited levels for THC when operating a motor vehicle: between two and 5 nanograms of THC per ml of blood or the more serious offence of 5 ng or more of THC per ml of blood. It is also against the law to drive if you have any "detectable amount" of LSD, psilocybin, magic mushrooms, ketamine, PCP, cocaine, methamphetamine or 6-mam (an indication of heroin use) in your system, the DoJ states.
How Police Measure Impaired Driving
The federal government introduced legislation several years ago that makes it illegal to have a blood alcohol content level over the legal limit two hours after driving. Police do not need reasonable suspicion to demand a breath sample from you under the new law. Failure to comply will result in criminal charges that carry the same or greater penalties as driving while impaired.
Under the Criminal Code, you can be charged with impaired driving if you control any “conveyance,” including an automobile, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, a boat, aircraft or railway equipment. If police stop you, they can demand that you blow into a roadside screening device, provide an oral fluid sample measured by a screening device and/or participate in a series of standardized sobriety tests.
If you are suspected of being a drug-impaired driver and arrested, police can demand that you submit a blood sample to provide a more accurate measure of your level of impairmentA reduced ability to operate a vehicle due to alcohol or drug consumption. You can also be asked to complete a 12-step DRE evaluationA 12-step procedure to evaluate impairment. at the police station, which involves balance and attention tests. You may also be examined to check for indications of drug use, such as needle marks.
Penalties for Impaired Driving
Drivers of every age face harsh penalties for impaired driving. Three new criminal offences were created in 2018 for having specified levels of a drug in the blood within two hours of driving. If you are caught with between two and five ng of THC in your blood, that would be dealt with as a summary conviction criminal offence, punishable by a maximum fine of up to $1,000.
If 5 ng or more of THC is detected in your blood, the DoJ document states your charge would be a hybrid offence, meaning that it can be prosecuted by indictment in serious cases or by summary conviction in lesser cases. If a blood test shows you have a combined THC and alcohol concentration of 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, combined with a THC level greater than 2.5 ng per ml of blood, that would also be treated as a hybrid offence.
According to s.320.19 of the Code, both hybrid offences would be punishable by mandatory penalties of $1,000 for a first offence and escalating penalties for repeat offenders. The minimum penalty for a second offence is 30 days in jail, with sentences of 120 days in custody imposed for a third or subsequent offence. The maximum penalty for the latter two convictions is two years less a day on summary conviction and ten years for indictable offences.
If you refuse to comply with a demand for bodily samples, you could be fined $2,000.
Since provinces and territories are responsible for their roadways, penalties may vary. Many jurisdictions have zero-tolerance policies for youth and impaired driving.
In Ontario, for example, drivers age 21 or under and novice drivers of any age (with G1, G2, M1, or M2 licences) must not have any presence of alcohol or cannabis in their blood when behind the wheel. Penalties can include a fine, licence suspension and a fee for licence reinstatement. Your licence can also be cancelled, and your car can be impounded.
In Alberta, if your licence is suspended in the final year of the Graduated Driver's Licence phase, the one-year term starts following your licence's reinstatement.
A Youth Court judge can impose probation with alcohol counselling and/or community service.
Under s.320.2 of the Code, if you are charged with impaired driving causing bodily harm, you face a maximum penalty of two years less a day in jail for a summary conviction or a maximum of 14 years for an indictable offence. The charge of impaired driving causing death, s.320.21, is always an indictable offence, with a maximum of life in prison.
Treated as Summary Conviction or Indictable Offence
When prosecuting a charge of impaired driving, the Crown can proceed as an indictable offenceIndictable offences are more-serious criminal offences or summary convictionUsed for lesser offences. A conviction for an indictable offence carries more serious penalties.
Glossary of Legal Terms
DRE evaluation
The Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) is a 12-step procedure police use to evaluate those suspected of impairment. If the DRE determines that the person is impaired, the DRE will indicate what category or categories of drugs may have contributed to that impairment.
Impairment
Being impaired means that the driver’s ability to operate a motor vehicle was altered due to alcohol or drug consumption. Having the prohibited level of alcohol, THC, or other impairing drugs in your blood within two hours of driving is an offence.
Indictable offence
Indictable offences are the most serious offences under the Criminal Code and they come with more serious punishments, up to a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Summary conviction
Summary convictions are used for lesser offences with penalties, fines and short jail time. They reflect the majority of offences as defined in the Code.
