PENALTIES
You have probably been charged with two (2) criminal offences
- one of Impaired driving , the second one of driving with a
blood/alcohol level over .08 mg per 100 ml of blood. A conviction
on either of these two charges will result in the same punishment.
Impaired charges usually occur in one of two circumstances.
The most common situation occurs when you are pulled over
by police carrying out the Alberta Check Stop program. The
second most common situation occurs when you are pulled over
by the police as a result of their observations of your driving.
The latter situation affords the police a greater opportunity
to observe your driving and thus to collect evidence against
you.
In the event that you refused to provide samples of your
breath for analysis, you will have been charged with refusal,
contrary to 259(4) of the Criminal Code of Canada
Penalties
Many clients ask us why they should defend the charges. The
consequences of an impaired driving conviction are substantial.
In addition to receiving a criminal conviction, criminal record,
possible problems with employment and travel, if convicted
you will be subject to the following penalties.
Offence
First
Second
Third
Fine/Jail
min.$600.
min.14 days
min.90 days
Drive suspension(Code)
1 year*
2-5 years
min.3 years
Suspension(Prov’l)
1 year
if within 10 years-3 years
min. 5 years
The penalties set out above are minimum penalties and are
thus subject to increase depending on the particular circumstances
of the case.
*The one year prohibition may be reduced
to three months upon recommendation by the Judge and with
participation in the interlock program.
Curative Discharge
Under certain circumstances, you may be eligible for a curative
discharge. If such a disposition is granted, it would avoid
a criminal conviction and possibly a jail sentence. Curative
discharges are not common.
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