If you’ve been arrested or
charged for a DUI or Impaired Driving Charge in Ontario, there are some things
that you should know prior to calling your DUI lawyer. Your Impaired Driving
lawyer will do what he or she can to defend you, but you also have to provide
the right information for your defence.
Understanding Impaired Driving
In Ontario, Impaired
Driving is defined as the act of operating a motor vehicle while an individual
is intoxicated with either drugs or alcohol.
The term “motor vehicle”
includes the following:
- Cars
- Motor boats
- Off-road vehicles
- Seadoos
- Snowmobiles
- Trucks
What is Over 80?
A charge of Over 80 means
that an individual was found by law officers to be operating a motor vehicle
while having a blood alcohol level of 80 mg per 100 ml of blood. In Ontario,
this blood alcohol level is considered impaired by local standards and is also
against the law.
Note that a driver may
feel perfectly fine and not drunk at all yet still register a blood alcohol
level that is over the legal limit.
When Can the Police Ask You to Breathe into a Breathalyzer?
When you’ve been pulled
over by the police, the police is within
their authority to ask you to breathe into a breathalyzer when there is due
reason to suspect that you’re drunk, such as when you smell like alcohol or if
there are liquor bottles inside your vehicle. Other valid reasons include
telling the officer you’ve had a few drinks or if the police witnessed you
driving erratically.
Know that pretending to
breathe into a breathalyzer or refusing to breathe into a breathalyzer is
punishable by the law.
What Are the Consequences for Impaired Driving in Ontario?
The consequences of impaired
driving vary based on several factors. Factors include your blood alcohol level
and whether or not you have a previous record for drinking and driving. Your DUI lawyer will explain this to you because
consequences may or may not include jail time, losing privileges to drive,
fines, and more.
A DUI charge is a serious
offence. You need a seasoned DUI lawyer to make sure that your case is properly defended. If you’re in jail and can’t meet
with a DUI lawyer, you may ask the police to contact
one for you. Know that you can mention a DUI lawyer like Calvin Barry and the police are bound by duty to contact your drinking and driving lawyer for you.
