BACKGROUNDER
2004PSSG0024-000818 Oct. 18, 2004	Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
BILL 66 MOTOR VEHICLE AMENDMENT ACT - KEY AMENDMENTS

Rehabilitation Program

 

The drinking driver rehabilitation program will help address serious drinking problems underlying a drinking-driving record. Completion of a rehabilitation program may be a condition of retaining a driver’s licence or of applying for a licence for people who have:

 

• A Criminal Code drinking driving conviction.
• Two 90-day administrative drinking driving prohibitions within 5 years.
• Three 24-hour driving prohibitions within 5 years.
• A combination of three 24-hour or 90-day prohibitions within 5 years.

 

An initial assessment will be completed when a driver enters the program, to determine which program the driver should complete, based on the driver’s individual circumstances. Options include:

 

• An education program focusing on the harmful effects and consequences of drinking and driving.
• An intensive counselling program to change drinking and driving behaviours.
• A treatment program targeting alcohol dependency.

 

This will be a user-pay system, and an estimated 7,900 people will complete the program each year.

 

 Ignition Interlock Program

 

A driver convicted of three or more alcohol-related Criminal Code offences will be permitted to re-apply for a driver’s license if they have successfully completed the rehabilitation program. At that time, the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles may require the use of an ignition interlock device, which requires a driver to submit a breath sample before the vehicle will start. 

 

Drivers who receive a driving prohibition after a first or second drinking driving conviction may also be required to use an interlock device.  

 

Drivers required to use an interlock device will pay an administration fee, a monthly user fee, and the cost of installing and removing the interlock device. An estimated 230 drivers will enter the program each year.

 

 

24-hour Impoundments and Road-side Screening Devices

 

Each year, police prohibit approximately 40,000 people from driving for 24 hours because their ability to drive is affected by alcohol. Police will now have additional tools to ensure that drinking drivers stay off the road, including:

 

• Vehicles can be immediately impounded for 24 hours at the road side.
• If a driver disputes a 24-hour prohibition, police can now use the roadside screening device as an approved breath test, rather than having to conduct the test at the police station.  

 

To ensure due process, a driver given a 24-hour prohibition may seek a written review from the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles. The prohibition may be removed from a driving record if approved by the Superintendent. Currently, the only recourse for drivers is judicial review by the Supreme Court of B.C. 

 

Driving While Prohibited or Suspended

 

To further deter prohibited or suspended drivers from getting behind the wheel, new sanctions include:

 

• Increasing the minimum fine for driving while prohibited from $300 to $500.
• Increasing the vehicle impoundment period from 30 days to 60 days for a first infraction, and from 60 days to 90 days for subsequent incidents.
• Extending vehicle impoundments to drivers who are suspended from driving for Criminal Code convictions, and drivers who are prohibited because they are unfit to drive.

 

Refuse to Issue for Liquor Fines

 

Changes authorize ICBC to refuse to issue a driver’s licence when there are outstanding fines for offences committed under the Liquor Control and Licensing Act. More than half of all tickets issued each year are unpaid as there is no penalty for non-payment. Uncollected fines currently total $4.7 million.

 

Bail Conditions

 

New provisions ensure that when a court imposes a bail condition banning driving, a driver’s existing license will be suspended while the court order is in effect.   

 

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Media contact:	Cindy Rose Public Affairs Bureau Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General 250 356-6961
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