Your Impaired Driving / DUI Lawyer
Serving Southern Ontario

If you’re facing an impaired driving charge, it’s important not to limit your options. Consulting with an experienced criminal lawyer can help you explore potential defenses and avoid automatically pleading guilty.

The consequences of an impaired driving conviction can be severe. You will temporarily lose your driving privileges, which could impact your ability to work. Additionally, your insurance premiums will increase significantly.

For those accused of impaired driving, the minimum penalty includes a $1,000 fine and a one-year driving prohibition. Regardless of whether you provide a breath sample, you can still be charged with impaired driving.

When a person is charged, they are typically issued a Promise to Appear, which may also require them to attend a future appointment for fingerprints and photographs. Failing to comply with this can lead to additional criminal charges.

If the individual has a prior conviction for a related drinking and driving offense, they will receive a Notice of Application for Increased Penalty. This notice allows the Crown to use the previous conviction to seek a mandatory minimum jail sentence and extended driving prohibitions.

At the time of the charge, the accused will generally face a 90-day administrative license suspension and receive both a breath certificate and a printout of the intoxilyzer readings.

This is only the start of the legal process. Handling an impaired driving or “over 80” charge involves substantial documentation. The police must prepare criminal charges, a detailed incident summary, witness statements, police notes, a Certificate of Analysis, and an Alcohol Influence Report. Many police departments also record the breath test and related footage at the station. All of this evidence is compiled and referred to as “disclosure.”

In Ontario, since May 2009, drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) between 50 and 80 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood can be arrested for drinking and driving.

First-time offenders face a three-day license suspension and a $150 fine. A second offense within five years results in a one-week suspension, mandatory attendance at an alcohol education program, and another $150 fine. A third offense leads to a one-month suspension and the installation of an ignition interlock device in your vehicle for six months.

Additionally, your insurance company will classify you as a high-risk driver, leading to a significant increase in premiums. Rates exceeding $10,000 per year for at least five years are common, and in some cases, insurers may even cancel your policy altogether.

If someone refuses or fails to comply with a breath demand—whether by outright refusal, such as saying “no,” or by pretending to blow—the person will be charged with refusing or failing to provide a breath sample. The Crown must then prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the refusal or failure was “final and unequivocal.”

Even if the Crown establishes this, there are potential defenses, such as having a “reasonable excuse” for not providing the sample. Many of these defenses apply to both refusing a roadside screening device and an intoxilyzer breath demand.

Courts have accepted various reasons as reasonable excuses. For example, a health issue that prevents the person from giving a proper sample, or if the person was mistreated by the police during the testing process, and this mistreatment affected their decision to refuse. The list of valid excuses is not exhaustive, and each case must be evaluated based on its unique circumstances.

As a general rule, anyone under arrest should comply with the demand for a breath sample. Although there are rare exceptions, the advice from an experienced DUI lawyer is to always provide a breath sample when requested. Refusing a breath sample in the hope that your case falls within a narrow exception is too risky.

When someone is charged by the police, they are usually given a Promise to Appear, which may include a requirement to attend a future appointment for fingerprints and a photograph. Failing to comply with this can result in additional criminal charges.

If the person has a prior conviction for a related drinking and driving offense, they will be served with a Notice of Application for Increased Penalty. This allows the Crown to use the previous conviction to impose a mandatory minimum jail sentence and extended driving prohibitions.

At the time of the charge, the accused will also typically receive a 90-day administrative license suspension, along with the breath certificate and a printout of the intoxilyzer readings.

However, this is just the beginning. Processing an impaired driving or “over 80” charge involves extensive paperwork. The police must prepare criminal information, a summary of the incident, witness statements, detailed police notes, a Certificate of Analysis, and an Alcohol Influence Report. Many police forces also record the breath test procedure and other footage from the station. This collection of documents and videos is known as “disclosure.”