Impaired Driving and Over 80 mg per 100ml of blood
Any person under the influence of alcohol or a drug, who operates a motor vehicle, a vessel, operates or assists in operating an aircraft or railway equipment or at the least has the care or control of such vehicles, whether in motion or not, commits an offence of Impaired driving under Section 253(1)(a) Criminal Code or if such quantity of alcohol concentration in blood is over 80 mg per 100ml of blood, commits an offence under Section 253(1)(b) Criminal Code.
Over 80 mg and impaired driving are two different offences under the same section. Impairment of a person’s ability to drive even to the slightest degree is sufficient to be charged under this section. Such impairment can be evident in the person’s driving ability or straddling of lanes.
Failure in a Standard Field Sobriety Test or alcohol blood content 50-79 mg/100 ml are issued penalties and license suspension.
Over 80 mg is punished with a maximum of 5 years of imprisonment with a mandatory minimum one (1) year of driving prohibition. Rule against multiple convictions prevents the accused from being charged for both offences at the same time.
The term care and control of a vehicle is subjective and is determined on a case on case basis. If a person accused decides to plead guilty, it is recommended to do so at the earliest to take advantage of government programs like the Ignition Interlock Program that will enable earlier reinstation of driver’s license.
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