More than 1,100 drunk driving penalties to be overturned

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – More than 1,100 drivers caught up in BC’s tougher drunk driving rules before part of the law was found unconstitutional will have their penalties overturned.

Many of those drivers had to pay more than $2,600 to take driver education courses and install the ignition locks on their car. The justice ministry has not yet decided if it will issue refunds.

Lawyer Paul Doroshenko has filed legal challenges over the penalty program and says out of the 35,000 drivers who were caught during the period in question, these 1,100 are a bit different.

“You look at their driving records and find out their driving record has nothing on it that indicates any alcohol problem. Lots of people have been driving for 20 years and never had a ticket and they get an immediate roadside prohibition and suddenly they have to have an interlock on their car and go through the responsible driver program.”

He says his office received an internal document from the province ” It says [the penalty] was automatic, their computer automatically made them do this.”

But Doroshenko says in the Motor Vehicle Act, it says the superintendent may compel people to do this only based on their driving record.

“Well, if it’s compulsory, that means everybody has to do it. That’s what it would say in the Motor Vehicle Act. But it’s not; it’s based on the driving record,” he emphasizes.

This comes after the superintendent of motor vehicles reviewed the roadside prohibitions issued during a three-week period in November 2011 ahead of a ruling that found part of the law was unconstitutional.

Minister of Justice Shirley Bond says the government remains committed to its immediate roadside prohibition program, which she says has saved roughly 104 lives over the past two years.

“While the majority of these drivers had not yet enrolled in these remedial programs, approximately 440 had – and based on the advice I’ve received, a process is now underway to determine which drivers may be entitled to reimbursement costs. Notably, this affects a very limited group of drivers.

She says the group of drivers that may be entitled to reimbursement costs is very small.

“Make no mistake: none of these drivers are off the hook. This decision only relates to the remedial program requirements for that small group of impacted drivers and does not affect the prohibition, impoundment, monetary penalties, or fees associated with the drinking and driving incident,” explains Bond.