Consequences of Conviction

The penalties for impaired driving are severe, and the trend is toward increasingly harsh punishment.

Offence		Criminal Record	Fine or Jail Sentence	Driving Prohibitions & License Suspensions		Driver Penalty Points
				Criminal Code (Canada)	Motor Vehicle Act (BC)
Impaired driving, driving or 80, refusal to provide samples	1st offence	yes	At least $1000	1-3 years	1 year	10
	2nd offence	yes	At least 30 days jail	2-5 years	3 years	10
	3rd or subsequent offence	yes	At least 120 days jail	3 years to life prohibition	lifetime suspension	10
Impaired causing bodily harm		yes	Up to 10 years jail	Up to 10 years	1 year	10
Impaired causing death		yes	Up to life in jail	Up to life	1 year	10
Driving while prohibited (Motor Vehicle Act)	1st conviction	no	At least $500	No applicable	1 year	10
	2nd or more conviction	no	At least $500 and 14 days jail	No applicable	1 year	10
Driving while disqualified (Criminal Code)		yes	$2000 fine, or up to 5 years	Up to 3 years	1 year	10

If a driver is found guilty of impaired driving and driving over 80 mg, a conviction will only be entered on one of the two charges. If the driver is found guilty of impaired driving and refusing to provide samples, convictions will be entered on both charges.

If there is a motor vehicle accident, a conviction for impaired driving will void the driver's insurance policy, leaving him liable for damages resulting from the accident.

These penalties can be avoided: contact us.