Impaired Driving (British Columbia)

Federal laws passed in 2018 give police the right to conduct roadside testing for impaired driving on anyone who has been “lawfully” pulled over. Prior to this update , officers needed a “reasonable suspicion” that a driver was impaired, such as slurred speech, before administering a breathalyzer.

In B.C., you can be charged with impaired driving if you have a blood alcohol content (BAC) equal to or exceeding 80 milligrams (mg) of alcohol in 100 millilitres (mL) of blood (0.08 BAC).

Even if your BAC is below 0.08, you could still face charges. And for those in the Graduated Licensing Program, you cannot have any alcohol or drugs in your system while driving.

THC is the primary psychoactive component of cannabis. The federal Department of Justice also has guidelines for cannabis impairment. It is an offence to have between two and five nanograms (ng) of THC per ml of blood when operating a vehicle. It is an even more serious offenceAn indictable offence with a maximum punishment of five years or more. to have five ng or more of THC per ml of blood.

The combined prohibited levels of alcohol and cannabis are 50 mg or more of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and 2.5 ng or more of THC per ml of blood.

RoadSafetyBC could also order you to take part in the Ignition Interlock Program. A device will be wired to your ignition and will be required to provide an alcohol-free breath sample to start your vehicle.

You will also be expected to provide samples at random times while your vehicle is operating to ensure you remain alcohol-free. If you have been drinking, the device will prompt you to pull over and turn the engine off. If you ignore the prompts, the device’s alarm will sound until the vehicle is turned off.

It is important to note that an impaired driving conviction will remain on your driving record for three years, while a Criminal Code conviction remains on your criminal record until you apply for a record suspension and it is accepted.

Impaired driving has two separate layers of consequences in British Columbia. The first is the criminal charge under the Criminal Code of Canada — the same offence, penalties and mandatory minimums everywhere in Canada. The second is British Columbia’s own administrative layer — licence suspensions, vehicle impoundment and program requirements that are not a criminal conviction and can apply even before, or without, a criminal charge.

For the criminal charge and the penalties that apply everywhere in Canada, see Impaired Driving.

Zero tolerance for new (L and N) drivers

Anyone driving on a Learner’s (Class 7L/8L) or Novice (Class 7/8) licence under British Columbia’s Graduated Licensing Program must have no alcohol, cocaine, or THC in their body at all while driving. If a roadside check finds any trace, the licence is automatically suspended for 12 hours and must be surrendered on the spot; a Novice driver’s 24-month Novice period restarts from zero, and a Learner must redo the required testing. If the same driver’s reading actually reaches the “Warn” or “Fail” level described below, they face the same consequences as any other driver, in addition to this Graduated Licensing Program reset.

24-hour roadside prohibition

If police reasonably believe a driver’s ability is affected by alcohol or drugs, they can take the driver’s licence on the spot for 24 hours — no breath test is required, though a driver can ask for one. Police may also impound the vehicle for 24 hours.

Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP): roadside alcohol thresholds

If a roadside breath sample on an approved screening device reads “Warn” (blood alcohol of at least 50 mg per 100 mL of blood, i.e. 0.05) or “Fail” (at least 80 mg per 100 mL, i.e. 0.08), or the driver refuses to give a sample, police serve an immediate driving prohibition. A Fail reading (0.08) is the same reading that can also support a Criminal Code charge, but the Immediate Roadside Prohibition itself is a separate administrative action that does not depend on, and is not, a criminal charge or conviction. A first Warn in five years brings a 3-day driving prohibition; a second Warn brings 7 days; a third or further Warn brings 30 days; a Fail, or a refusal to provide a sample, brings a 90-day prohibition. The vehicle may also be impounded — for a Fail or a refusal, the impoundment period is 30 days, even though the driving prohibition itself is 90 days. A driver can ask for a second breath test on a different device, and can apply to RoadSafetyBC (the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles) for a review of the prohibition.

90-day Administrative Driving Prohibition (ADP)

A separate 90-day prohibition can be issued under section 94.1 of the Motor Vehicle Act — typically where a formal breath or blood analysis (not just a roadside screening device), a Drug Recognition Expert evaluation, a prescribed drug concentration, or a refusal to comply with a Criminal Code breath or blood demand is involved. This is often the route used when a person is also under criminal investigation. British Columbia also has separate drug-related administrative prohibitions based on prescribed drug concentrations set out in the Motor Vehicle Act and its regulations.

Vehicle impoundment

Depending on which of the measures above applies, police can impound a vehicle for 24 hours (roadside prohibition), or for 3, 7, or 30 days under an Immediate Roadside Prohibition. Towing and storage costs apply separately from any monetary penalty or reinstatement fee.

Ignition Interlock Program

RoadSafetyBC can require a driver — sometimes as a condition of getting their licence back after one of the prohibitions above, sometimes on its own — to install an ignition interlock device (an in-vehicle breath-testing unit the driver must blow into before the vehicle will start) before driving again. It is a user-pay program, with payment-plan options for drivers who qualify.

Reinstatement and other costs

Getting a licence back after an Immediate Roadside Prohibition, a 90-day Administrative Driving Prohibition, or certain other longer Motor Vehicle Act suspensions can involve several separate cost categories: a monetary penalty, towing and storage if the vehicle was impounded, a licence reinstatement fee, and possible Responsible Driver Program or Ignition Interlock Program costs. Reinstatement fees, towing and storage costs, interlock costs, or program fees may also apply. A bare 12-hour Graduated Licensing Program suspension or a bare 24-hour roadside prohibition, on its own, does not carry the Motor Vehicle Act’s licence-reinstatement fee.

All of these measures — the 12-hour and 24-hour actions, the Immediate Roadside Prohibition tiers, the 90-day Administrative Driving Prohibition, vehicle impoundment, and the Ignition Interlock Program — are administrative actions taken under the Motor Vehicle Act. None of them is a criminal conviction, and none of them by itself creates a criminal record. They run alongside the Criminal Code process rather than instead of it: they can apply whether or not a person is ever criminally charged, and can also apply in addition to a criminal charge. A separate court-ordered driving prohibition under Criminal Code section 320.24 is distinct from these provincial licence suspensions and only follows a criminal conviction. The Motor Vehicle Act does not itself send anyone to jail for impaired driving — imprisonment can only follow a Criminal Code conviction.