Driver asks for second breath test, fails

Castanet: RCMP - Sep 23, 2010 
Asking for a second opinion didn't have the desired outcome for a Kelowna motorist.  On Tuesday, September 21, a 60-year-old man blew a warn on a roadside alcohol screening test. He then asked to try the test again on a different device. Under the new Immediate Roadside Prohibition rules, motorists are able to take a second test on a different device, says RCMP Constable Steve Holmes.  Holmes says the driver, who had a strong odour of liquor on his breath, proceeded to blow a fail on his second try.  
The man had initially been stopped by police in the 600 block of Finns Road after he spun his tires in the parking lot of a liquor store, which he had just patronized. His vehicle will be impounded for 30 days and he was given an immediate 90 day driving prohibition. Had the driver stuck with a warn, he would have faced only a three day driving ban and a three day impound.

Two more drivers received swift penalties under the new law on Wednesday. A motorist was stopped for speeding northbound on Gordon Drive near Raymer Road at 8:40 p.m. The smell of liquor on the 31-year-old man's breath gave the police officer grounds for a roadside alcohol screening device test.
Holmes says the driver failed the test and asked for a second test on another device. That test also resulted in a fail and he was given a 90 day driving prohibition and a 30 day impoundment of his black Honda sedan.

The second IRP of the day occurred at 11:21 p.m. when a police officer stopped a Green Volkswagen at Abbott Street and Leon Avenue for an expired insurance tag. Tipped off by the smell of liquor on the 30-year-old man's breath, police conducted a roadside alcohol screening device test which resulted in a fail. Again, a 90 day driving prohibition was served and the vehicle was impounded for 30 days.
The driver also received a ticket for driving with no insurance.

In addition to the driving prohibitions and vehicle impoundments, all three drivers will face monetary penalties for reinstatement of their driver's licences and will have to pay for a mandatory ignition interlock program for one year as well as enroll in the responsible driver program. "Despite regular awareness campaigns and a general acceptance that drinking and driving do not mix, people continue to drive after consuming alcohol, putting people's lives at risk year after year." The number of impaired driving convictions has increased every year since 2005, says Holmes. "The cost in lives, injuries and damage is far too high to ignore."