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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the Penalty for Impaired Driving? Answer >
Q. What is the difference between Impaired Driving and Drive Over 80? Answer >
Q: Do I get a criminal record for a drinking and driving/impaired driving charge? Answer >
Q. Why do I have to have my fingerprints taken? Answer >
Q. The Police Breathalyzer said that I was over the legal limit how can I fight that? Answer >
Q. I was charged with driving over 80, but there is no way I was drunk or impaired. Answer >
Q. A friend told me I could get a reduced charge, like a traffic ticket and avoid the criminal record and licence suspension. Answer >
Q. I had my licence taken away for three months, when can I drive again? Answer >
Q. Can I get a conditional licence just to drive to work and back? Answer >
Q. Should I notify my insurance company of the charge and maybe cancel my car insurance? Answer >
Q. I was involved in a car accident; the police arrested me for drinking and driving. The insurance company is not going to fix my car, is this right? Answer >
Q. My impaired driving case looks hopeless, I think I'm guilty should I just go and plead guilty? Answer >
Q. Is there any advantage to me if I plead guilty right away to a impaired driving charge? Answer >
Q. What is the lawyer's success rate? Answer >
Q. What does it cost to come and speak to you? Answer >
Q. What does it cost to fight an impaired driving charge? Answer >
Q: What is the Penalty for Impaired Driving?
A. Impaired Driving Penalties:
Upon being arrested for Impaired Driving the accused will face an Immediate, mandatory ninety-day administrative driver's licence suspension. (Also known as an ADLS suspension, Administrative Drivers Licence Suspension)
Upon being convicted for impaired driving the driver will face a lose of their driver's licence for at least one year. This is in addition to the ninety day ADLS suspension, and up to a lifetime suspension for repeat offences.
First time impaired driving convictions usually result in a fine, a one year licence suspension, and a criminal record. Depending on the circumstances, the fine will be in the area of six hundred to five thousand dollars.
A second conviction for a drinking and driving offence will mean a mandatory jail term, in addition to a fine and the mandatory drivers licence suspension for three (3) years.
A criminal record in Canada may prohibit you from holding certain jobs, being bonded, or traveling across the border to the United States and/or other countries.
If you are a new immigrant to Canada, having been convicted of a criminal offence or impaired driving charge will put your application for Canadian citizenship in jeopardy.
If you're convicted of a drinking driving offence your insurance company will consider refusing to insure you. The insurance company will consider you a high risk driver to insure.
The insurance companies
will consider that because you have be convicted and labeled a "drinking driver" you are more liable to be involved in an accident where the insurance company may have to pay out large claims. You may find that if you are able to get insurance, that you will be put into a "facility insurance" rate. Insurance premiums for drinking drivers will be in the area of ten thousand dollars per year, for at least five years, meaning an insurance cost up to fifty thousand dollars for an impaired driving charge.
When the year licence prohibition has expired you are allow to apply to have your drivers licence reinstated. As a convicted criminal to have your licence reinstated, you ar required to install a breathalyzer machine in your vehicle for a cost to you of approx one thousand five hundred dollars.
Before your licence will be reinstated you will be required to take a Mandatory Alcohol Education and Treatment Program, at a cost to you of approx 500 dollars. The treatment program requires that you attend for alcohol counseling, be tested for alcoholism, and attend classes regarding drinking and driving in Canada. The "Back on Track" program can take up to eleven months to complete.
Q: What is the difference between Impaired Driving and Drive Over 80?
A: Impaired Driving is defined as "driving while your ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired due to the consumption of an alcohol or drug", while "Driving over 80" means the driver operated a motor vehicle with a blood verses alcohol concentration of more than 80 milligrams.
Driving over 80 means that the driver was driving over the legal limit, not necessarily driving badly or that they were impaired.
Impaired driving and drive over 80mgs are separate offences but frequently the police charge motorists with both. They are both criminal offences, which may arise out of a single set of circumstances. They are two different charges, with two different issues to prove when the case comes to court.
Impaired driving means that the driver's judgment to operate a motor vehicle was impaired because of an alcohol or drug. Therefore their ability to operate the motor vehicle was impaired due to that consumption, not that the driver was necessarily drunk.
Over 80 means that the police had a legal right to test the driver's blood/alcohol concentration and when they did so the level was found to be more than the 80 milligrams allowed by law. For this charge there does not have to be any evidence of intoxication or impairment, or bad driving just the consumption of alcohol. This is the charge frequently laid at RIDE spot checks.
Q. Does a charge for a drinking and driving result in a criminal record?
A: Yes. if your convicted of a criminal offence you will get a criminal record. Impaired Driving, Drive over 80, Refuse Breath Test, and similar charges are all criminal offences in Canada. Anyone convicted of these offences receives a Criminal Record that stays with that person for life.
Q. Why do I have to have my fingerprints taken?
A. Under the Identification of Criminals Act, anyone convicted of a criminal offence is subject to being photographed and fingerprinted. These records are forwarded to the RCMP to be put into their criminal database and kept forever.
Q. The Breathalyzer said that I was over the limit how can I fight that? I really only had three drinks. I just had a shot before leaving the bar. I really did try to blow and they charged me with refusal to blow.
A. The Breathalyzer test is only one aspect of the offence against you. Before the results of these tests can be used against you, the police have to fulfill numerous conditions, most notably constitutional ones. As well, the Breathalyzer is a machine. Just like a speed-measuring device, certain testing procedures must be proven.
If you had been drinking recently, you may have what is known as the "last drink defense" available to you. The offence is driving with a blood alcohol concentration in your blood at the time of driving, not just necessarily at the time of the breath testing! Also, if you can prove through receipts, defense witnesses, etc that you only had a certain amount to drink, we can have you tested by a toxicologist. This may provide "evidence to the contrary".
OTT Legal Services are experts in the arrest and testing procedures. Our lawyers are experts appearing in court and constitutional and evidentiary issues.
Q. I was charged with driving over 80, but there is no way I was drunk or impaired.
A. Driving over 80 charge does not mean you were impaired.
What Drive over 80mgs means is the government has set a limit of what level of alcohol a driver is allowed to have in their body when operating a motor vehicle. If the police test you and you record a reading over that limit, you may charged with the offence of Drive over 80mgs. The charge does not mean that you were intoxicated, drunk, or impaired, just you were over the legal limit of 80mg.
Q. A friend told me I could get a reduced charge, like a traffic ticket and avoid the criminal record and licence suspension.
A. Although this is possible to happen, it is rare and unusual.
The crown attorneys have been directed not to reduce these charges and prosecute them fully. This scenario usually only occurs with well prepared criminal lawyers who can present legal arguments putting a conviction by the prosecution and police in jeopardy by utilizing procedural motions, constitutional or disclosure issues, sometimes skilled lawyers can paint the prosecution into a corner where the most prudent and reasonable course is to allow a plea to a lesser charge.
Q. My driver's licence has been suspended for three months, when can I drive again?
A. After the three months period has passed, and you are waiting your impaired driving trial date, you can attend at the Ministry of Transportation office and apply to get your drivers licence back. You will be required to pay a reinstatement fee of one hundred and fifty dollars and will then have your licence returned to you. You can then drive till the trial date.
Q. Can I get a conditional licence just to drive to work and back?
A. No, if you are convicted of a criminal offence for a drinking and driving offence, your driver's licence is under suspension throughout Canada. You are not allowed to drive under any circumstances. The penalty for driving while your licence is suspended is a further suspension, a fine and even jail.
Q. Should I notify my insurance company of my charge, and cancel my car insurance?
A. This may not be a good idea. There maybe factors that should be considered before you do this. Discuss this issue with OTT Legal Services before contacting your insurance company.
Usually upon learning that you have been charged with a criminal charge involving alcohol the insurance company will considere canceling your policy as they are concerned that you may commit another offence while awaiting your trial, or be involved in a serious accident where alcohol is a factor.
Q. I was involved in a car accident; the police arrested me for impaired driving. The insurance company is not going to fix my car, is this right?
A. If you review your insurance policy, you will find that the insurance policy states that, if you use the motor vehicle in an unlawful manner, e.g. driving while impaired under the influence, the insurance company will not repair or replace your car.
For example if you "totaled" your car and have been arrested for drinking and driving, the insurance company is not going to give you anything for your vehicle.
You may find that if you are found not guilty that your insurance company will then pay the cost of your vehicle. That alone may be worth the price of a lawyer.
If you are charged as a result of being involved in a motor vehicle collision contact our offices as these types of cases warrant special considerations.
Q. My case looks hopeless, I think I'm guilty should I just go and plead guilty?
A. The case is never hopeless. There maybe issues in your case that you do not even realize. When your case is looked at by a trained professional one issue may jump out that could win your case.
Pleading guilty will mean that you will automatically be subject to the penalties listed above. When the insurance costs can be up to fifty thousand dollars, fighting the charge can mean saving a lot of money.
Q. Is there any advantage to me if I plead guilty right away?
A. If you look at the penalties there is very little to gain by pleading guilty to these charges at the first opportunity. The judge may give you less of a financial penalty for the early plea of guilty, but the fine as with many traffic related issues is not the only penalty. There may be times when this should be considered but not without first consulting the trained professionals of OTT Legal Services.
Q. What is the lawyer's success rate?
A. Our lawyers have one of the highest success rates in Ontario. If there is any way to win your case, we will find it! Having appeared in court hundreds of times the lawyers with OTT Legal Services are some of the best lawyers in Ontario.
Q. What does it cost to come and speak to you?
A. Consultation with one of OTT Legal Services former Breathalyzer Technicians, Detectives, and legal representatives is always free. We will go over your criminal charge with you, show you what the issues are, and answer any questions that you may have.
Consultation is immediate and usually available seven days a week. Having years of experience in these types of cases we can give you an immediate evaluation and opinion of your case.
A. Our lawyers are some of the most affordable in southern Ontario. They charge a flat rate and do not charge per day.
As these charges have serious long-term affects on you employment, insurance rates and livelihood, we caution against looking for bargain lawyers who are not specialists in the field of drinking and driving offences. A small deposit is all it takes to get us working on your case, and payment plans are always available. Winning your case is our goal.
You get only one chance to appear in court with your lawyer, you need the best possible defense available. You cannot appear with a "bargain" lawyer, lose the case and then ask for a second trial with a better lawyer. Get the best possible defense team available with OTT Legal Services, call us at 1-888-668-8946 to discuss your case.
Why Risk Losing? Call For a Free Consultation 1-888-668-8946 or Email Your Request