If, as a result of your providing breathalyzer samples at the police detachment that are over 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood, or refusing to provide a breath sample, the police issue you an Appearance Notice or Promise to Appear requiring you to attend court, the police will also serve you a Notice of Prohibition under section 215.41 of the BC Motor Vehicle Act.  In the case of an “Administrative Driving Prohibition” (as distinct from an Immediate Roadside Prohibition, the prohibition does not take effect until 21 days from the date of service.  You have 7 days in which to apply for a written or oral review.  The cost of applying for the review is $100 for a written review and $200 for an oral review.

Unlike your criminal charges for which there are a wide range of defences, the defences to an Administrative Driving Prohibition are extremely limited, as they relate solely to the factual questions of whether the material filed by the police officer shows that you blew “over .80” or refused to blow within 3 hours of having been the driver of a motor vehicle.   Nonetheless, we encourage our clients to apply for the review for two reasons:  First, it provides early access to the Report to Superintendent that the police must file in support of the review; and secondly, there is a limited downside to applying for the review.  That’s because if we are retained for you for your criminal charges, we are prepared to review the material and conduct the review at no additional cost to you over and above the $100 or $200 payable to ICBC to conduct the review.

DISCLAIMER
The statement above is not legal advice. It is simply intended to give a very general understanding of this offence and some of the possible issues and defences that might be considered in defending it. For legal advice on impaired driving, click here.