A local politician supports Canada’s toughest penalties for impaired driving and excessive speeding. Starting Monday, police across B.C. will have the option of imposing an immediate penalty on anyone who fails a roadside breath test. Instead of issuing a 24-hour suspension, police will have the option to impose a 90-day driving ban, a $500 fine and impound the vehicle for 30 days. “It’s an important piece of legislation, something the public, opposition and police have been looking for,” said Vernon-Monashee MLA Eric Foster. “Police in our area have bumped up their
road checks and they are still getting a lot of impaired drivers. Hopefully, this new message will get out there.”
The fee for reinstating a suspended licence will be increased from $100 to $250, and drivers will also be billed $700 for towing and 30 days of vehicle impoundment. Failing a roadside test will also mean mandatory participation in B.C.’s “responsible driver program” at a cost of $1,420. The changes mean one failed roadside test could cost a driver $3,750 before driving again, and that is before any criminal code charges and suspensions that may also result.
A blood alcohol reading in the “warn” range between 0.05 and 0.08 per cent can result in a three-day driving ban, a $200 “administrative penalty” and another $250 fee to have a driver’s licence reinstated. Drivers may also have their car impounded for three days and be billed for towing and storage. A second test in the “warn” range within five years carries a seven-day suspension and possible vehicle impoundment, and penalties totaling $550.A third means the vehicle is impounded for 30 days, along with $650 in penalties and a mandatory responsible driver program and an alcohol-sensing ignition interlock for a year.
Foster, who spent eight years as an RCMP auxiliary in Lumby, said the number of accidents he attended with serious injuries and fatalities as a result of alcohol is staggering. “Hopefully, these new rules will help people get the message that we are not going to have drinking and driving on the highways anymore,” he said. Drivers caught exceeding the speed limit by 40 km/h, street racing, excessively tailgating, or doing reckless tricks such as motorcycle “wheelies” will also face increased penalties. Vehicles can be impounded for seven days after one offence, 30 days for a second offence within two years and 60 days for a third offence. That’s on top of the existing penalties for excessive speeding, including fines up to $483, three penalty points and a driver-risk premium of $320 a year on the next three years of car insurance.
Solicitor General Mike de Jong announced the changes to the Motor Vehicle Act this spring, responding to an increase in impaired driving cases reported by police.
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