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Fort St John, Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek B.C. drunk driving and roadside breathalyzer test lawyers applaud change!

As Fort St John and Dawson Creek impaired driving and roadside breathalyzer suspension lawyers we are pleased to report that clients who have been charged with impaired driving, DUI, and over .08 charged persons will soon have the right to a at least a right to a partial appeal process for administrative penalties such as driving suspensions, confiscation of vehicles and fees of up to $4000. The British Columbia Supreme Court found that the lack of any appeal process at all in the initial bill was not a reasonable limit which is demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. The British Columbia Attorney General, Shirley Bond, has proposed a new bill that if passed would make it mandatory for police to offer drivers the chance to have 2 tests on 2 different roadside screening devices. Under the new rules, only the lower of the 2 test would count. Obviously, all British Colombians want to know they are safe when driving on our roads but recent studies with respect to roadside breathalyzer devices have shown many are defective.

Fort St. John Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek impaired Driving Charge Lawyers

Our hard working North peace clients use of their vehicles for work for more than for pleasure and for them not having a vehicle is a financial disaster to them and the family members that depend upon them for their support. The proposed bill also allows for people to challenge administrative penalties if police did not offer them a 2nd roadside test on a different device, or if police did not use the lower of the 2 results. Be aware that the Attorney General hopes that roadside breathalyzer testing that can result in reinstated administrative penalties will resume by June 15, 2012. As lawyers we don’t feel the new bill goes far enough to protect the rights of individuals andin this regard we note that the new Democratic party Attorney General critic agrees with us as does Robert Holmes Pres. of the BC civil liberties Association who feels legislation falls short as the police can still hand out administrative penalties at the roadside which for our hard-working Northern Peace clients is devastating. We hope the bill will be debated in the legislature and that more protections will be provided for hard working people in Fort St. John, Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek. In the meantime if you have been charged or subject to an administrative penalty call us immediately at 250-262-5052 so we can help you. Summit Ahuja and Jennifer Lin are standing by to assist you immediately.

According to Ethan Barron, columnist for The Province, Cpl. Jamie Chung of the BC RCMP Traffic Services has “admitted that because of the margin of error, a person below the legal .05 limit — at .046 for example — could produce a “warn” reading and have their licence immediately suspended, their vehicle seized, and the fines and fees imposed.”

It gets worse, too:

“Ministry of Public Safety and solicitor-general spokesman Ian Indridson said the error margin of the roadside devices is not factored in when penalties are imposed because the devices are tested every 28 days and recalibrated if necessary.

[..]

Drivers given administrative penalties who appeal to the OSMV may get an unfair hearing from the adjudicator, Mansoori-Dara said.

“[Some adjudicators] don’t understand the evidence, and yet they go ahead and uphold these prohibitions,” Mansoori-Dara said.

Here is a link to the Sun article from today on the proposed bill.