Can police stop my car to see if I am prohibited?

Here in Canada, a lot of people are under the mistaken impression that police need to have grounds to stop their vehicles.

They believe that in order for a police officer to pull you over, they have to have viewed you taking part in some sort of offence, and have reasonable grounds to pull you over.

This is not true.

Police don’t need a reason

The Canadian Supreme Court has repeatedly held that it is entirely lawful for police officers to stop anyone driving a motor vehicle on the roadway, at any time, to check for a valid license, insurance, sobriety and the fitness of the vehicle to be driven on the road.

Police don’t have to suspect your license could be suspended just to be able to pull you over. They can pull you over for no reason, and that’s considered to be totally fine.

In addition to this, police have a lot of techniques that allow them to determine whose vehicles are most likely to be associated with prohibited drivers.

There is something they use called ALPR which stands for Automated License Plate Reader. These are little cameras installed on police cars, and they scan the license plates of vehicles as they go by.

Every day, in the ALPR system, there’s a list that’s downloaded of prohibited divers, and also a list of vehicles associated with prohibited drivers, and every day it just scans looking for these license plates.

And if it gets a hit on one of those plates, it will inform the police officer.

Driving a different car won’t help you

Another thing people may not realize is that the ALPR doesn’t just look for cars registered in the prohibited driver’s name. So, say, for example, someone thinks they can outsmart the system by driving their significant other’s car because they assume it won’t be in the system. Odds are that won’t work.

ICBC keeps a lot of information on you, and they know who you are associated with. If you’re listed as a driver on another vehicle, that will be in there. If you were pulled over driving somebody else’s vehicle before, ICBC knows that, and they will associate that vehicle with you.

It’s safe to assume that just because you’re driving a car not registered in your name, that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to get away with driving while prohibited. And that also doesn’t mean police won’t be able to stop you to see if you’re prohibited.

Requirements under the law

Under section 24.1 of the Motor Vehicle Act, a driver has an obligation to produce their driver’s license when a police officer requests it and to be in possession of a valid driver’s license.

Police can stop you and have you fulfil that obligation.

Under section 73 of the MVA a driver who is signalled by an officer to pull over, must stop the vehicle and state their name and address and the name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle.

You are legally obligated to stop, whether or not you think the police have the grounds to stop you. This means that they can stop you to see if you’re prohibited.

Certain conditions surrounding laws

There is a condition though, and that condition is that you actually have to be on the road, and actually have to be driving, in order to be stopped by the police.

There have been a couple of recent cases, where the courts have found that the common law powers to stop the driver of a motor vehicle, do not extend to vehicles that are not in motion.

One case, in particular, stands out, and it involved a man whose vehicle was parked at the side of the highway. A police officer pulled up behind him and then started an investigation, including demanding his license.

The court had to determine whether or not the man was arbitrarily detained, and the finding was that he was. The reasoning was that the police powers, even the powers under the MVA, did not extend to the man, because he was not driving the vehicle. He was sitting in an unmoving vehicle at the side of the roadway.

This means that police have to actually see the vehicle in motion. On top of that, the vehicle also has to be in motion on a highway.

There is a case that is currently before the SCC, that involves a man who was riding an ATV.

He rode the ATV from a convenience store, all the way to his driveway. It was only at the point that he turned into his driveway that the police officer stopped him and check his sobriety and his license.

The Ontario Court of Appeal decided that if the police officer was going to use that power, it had to be used when the man was on the roadway. The idea is that once the man makes it to his driveway, he is basically home free and the power to stop him no longer exists in those circumstances.

The Supreme Court of Canada may overturn this decision, but what is clear from these cases is that although police have a very broad power, the broader power is, the more important it is that police recognize the ends of that power.

The police have a responsibility in those circumstances to exercise that power and not go beyond the scope of it. While police can stop you if you’re in a moving vehicle, they can’t stop you in a parked vehicle, and they can’t stop you if you’re not on a highway or a roadway.