New driving law. Breath test at any time for drivers in Canada. (cost of)

[mapleguy]

AS of this date, drivers anywhere in Canada maybe required to do a breath test to prove that they are sober. This amendment states that any driver at any time, can be required to provide a suitable breath sample into a roadside testing device. Blow zero ? On you go. Blow .05 or more ? Impaired driving charge.


This is a great move in the right direction to reduce driving and drinking. For way too long the attitude has been that there is not possible to catch drivers who have been drinking. With this new regulation, the chance of being caught goes way up. The 45 cent cost of the disposable mouth piece is well worth it, if it reduces the percentage of drivers who have been drinking. The officer now does not need to have a pretext to make a demand for a breath sample. I think that this will become the norm, before any other transactions take place. Blow zero ? OK now lets talk about that red light you just drove through ?


My personal experience. As a Toronto Ambulance officer in the 1980's, I used to joke that on a week end night, the only sober drivers were the emergency service people. After 11 pm, the number of drunk drivers was well over 40 percent of those on the road. By 3am it was above 60 percent. It was not uncommon to meet drivers who were still fully intoxicated at 9 am on a Sunday.


Your comments ?

[badlander]

Is this a provincial thing, Alberta government still lists 0.08 as the limit?

I was not aware of any law that prohibited officers from testing for impairment whenever they wanted.

[mapleguy]

Badlander.


No this is Canada wide. In the past , to demand a breath sample, there had to be " signs of impairment " such as red eyes, slurred speech or the smell of alcohol on the breath. Now that is not required


This comes into effect tomorrow, January the first, 2019.


Here is a link to a news article for your information.


link. https://www.timescolonist.com/news/l...law-1.23355573






This amendment allows testing at any time, of any driver, without the need for RPG.