Impaired driving is defined as the act of driving any vehicle under the pressure of alcohol or other drugs
. It is a very serious criminal offence in Canada. Any person caught driving under the influence of alcohol is punished severely under the criminal court of Canada. This is because driving under the influence of alcohol can reduce ones ability to concentrate while driving. If alcohol concentration in blood is more, there are high chances of accidents because the vision gets blurred.
As per the latest Canadian statistics, there has been a quick increase in the impaired driving cases. There are more than 3,000 individuals who become victims of such cases every year. Such cases are mostly seen in youth. Several effective measures have been taken by the Canadian police to control such cases.
Some of the penalties for drunk drivers in Canada are:
Instant roadside license suspension
This is one of the biggest consequences of drunk driving on individuals. Any person who is caught driving under the influence of alcohol can lose his or her license immediately. If alcohol concentration in blood is 0.05 or more and the person refuses to give breath-sample test, he will face on the spot roadside license suspension.
Hefty fines
In addition to Instant roadside license suspension, the accused individuals are also forced to pay heavy fines in such cases. A heavy fine is imposed on accused individuals and it needs to be paid within a short time.
Mandatory jail for repeat offenders
The penalties of impaired driving in case of repeat offenders are more. Many laws have been passed according to which repeat offenders will have to spend time in jail. In addition to lengthy license suspensions, driving bans, hefty fines, they can even spend a weekend or more in jail.
These are some of the penalties of impaired driving cases on individuals. Accused individuals can take help from experienced criminal lawyer in such cases.