VANCOUVER — The B.C. Supreme Court says the high costs and lengthy roadside suspensions imposed on some drivers who fail a blood-alcohol test are unconstitutional.
Justice Jon Sigurdson found British Columbia’s new laws aimed at cracking down on drunk driving go too far by allowing an automatic 90-day driving suspension when someone blows over .08 on a roadside screening device.
“Although I am fully satisfied of the importance of the objective of reducing the harms caused by impaired driving, I have found that. . . in one respect, the impugned legislation infringes the rights of individuals to be free from unreasonable search and seizure,” Sigurdson wrote.
The law allows for penalties that could cost the suspended driver over $4,000.
Sigurdson notes that in Alberta and Ontario, someone blowing over .08 in a roadside test would be then taken back to the police detachment for another test on a more sophisticated breathalyzer device. That person would have a right to a lawyer.
Under B.C.’s legislation, enacted last year, the penalties and costs are imposed at the roadside based solely on the results of the screening device.
Those devices don’t record the results permanently, so there is no way to challenge them later, Sigurdson found.
He noted suspended drivers can apply for a review of the driving prohibition within a week. But there is only an oral hearing and no one may be cross-examined during it. The hearing can go ahead even if all the documents from the officer have not yet been received.
Instead, the adjudicator must only decide whether the driver was present and whether the roadside device registered a reading between .05 and .08, for a warning, or a failure for a reading above .08.
“The only available evidence as to what the (device) indicated is the observation of the peace officer, which may be put before the adjudicator in the form of an unsworn statement,” Sigurdson wrote.
He noted the financial costs can be extensive.
Fines range up to $500. The cost of towing a vehicle is about $80 and up, depending on the distance towed. Storage fees are as high as $19.55 per day. The cost of installing an ignition lock device is $1,500, and the costs of enrolling in a remedial program is $880.
“This infringement is not a reasonable limit which is demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society,” Sigurdson wrote.