VANCOUVER — British Columbia has one of the country’s toughest drunk driving laws, but if drivers choose to challenge a roadside ban and the penalties and fines that come with it, they have at least a one-in-five chance of getting of getting roadside ban overturned.
The Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles says in the year since the amendments, about 22 per cent of the 2,708 drivers who challenged an immediate roadside prohibition got it overturned. A total of 18,888 driving bans were issued in that time period.
While some defence lawyers applaud the successes, they say the appeal process remains unfair because it takes place outside of the court system. “We’re happy for our clients when we succeed, and it’s certainly nicer to be able to call people to tell them they’d won,” said Vancouver lawyer Paul Doroshenko.
“But the tribunal system does not allow you to really get to the bottom of it, and there are lots of innocent people who end up stuck with (the roadside bans).”
An oral review costs $200, and while the towing and storage fees will be waived or refunded if the driving ban gets overturned, the driver has already suffered consequences, said Doroshenko.
“Even if you’re innocent, you’ve already been punished,” he said. “Even the people who manage to get their (prohibitions) overturned have already had three weeks, usually, of no license, no car, and potentially a job loss and whatever else flows from it.”