Media Archives

Judge criticizes standards of proof used for roadside prohibitions

Feb 7 2014

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mark McEwan has torn a strip off the province’s anti-drunk-driving scheme, quashing an Immediate Roadside Prohibition handed to a drunk, naked man in a van who claimed not to have keys for the vehicle. In a judicial review, he criticized as “specious” and “illogical” a Superintendent of Motor Vehicles adjudicator’s ruling […]

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Impaired Passenger Cleared

Jan 22 2014

Peter Norman feels vindicated. The grandfather has been told it was the police, not him, who did something wrong. The Superintendent of Motor Vehicles notified him by letter of what he suspected all along. He shouldn’t have been given an immediate roadside prohibition when he was merely a passenger in a car. He’s glad he

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Grandpa’s punishment highlights gap in drunk-driving laws

Oct 19 2013

The B.C. superintendent of motor vehicles says he was unable to correct the wrongful punishment of a pensioner for drunk driving, even though he was a passenger in a car driven by his stone-cold sober grandson. The man did not file an appeal under the provisions of the controversial legislation that came into effect in

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Drivers face double standard with drug-related suspensions

Oct 8 2013

B.C.’s Superintendent of Motor Vehicles is looking to change the province’s laws so drivers allegedly impaired by drugs can appeal 24-hour roadside suspensions. Both alcohol and drug-related 24-hour suspensions are issued under different parts of Section 215 of the Motor Vehicle Act. While drivers allegedly impaired by alcohol have the right to a review, drivers

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Critics of drunk-driving laws take aim at screening devices

Aug 16 2013

The provincial Justice Minister is standing by the province’s drunk-driving laws despite increasing criticisms of the program over the review process for roadside prohibitions, and concerns about unreliable screening devices. This week, the B.C. Supreme Court quashed a ban that had been upheld after review, because the government had relied on a report that should

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Ruling could lead to quashing of hundreds of drunk-driving bans, lawyer says

Aug 15 2013

Critics of British Columbia’s immediate bans for impaired driving have a new arrow in their quiver in defending drunk-driving bans, after the B.C. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a government report on the roadside screening devices should have been inadmissible during the review process. The report was used by a government adjudicator to reject

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B.C. drivers have one-in five chance of getting roadside ban overturned

Aug 14 2013

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

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B.C. Supreme Court rules against government’s report on breathalyzers

Aug 12 2013

In a ruling that could result in thousands of appeals of drunk driving suspensions, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled that a government report on breathalyzers was not admissible in a particular case. Justice Richard Goepel’s ruled that the Superintendent’s Report on Approved Screening Devices was inadmissible in an Immediate Roadside Prohibitions review hearing. Paul

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ICBC sues riot suspects

Jun 15 2013

It’s been nearly two years since the Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver and ICBC is now launching a civil claim in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against 46 people who have been charged or convicted for their actions in the riot. ICBC says they are seeking damages after paying out about half a million

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Top Story: Stanley Cup Riots

Jun 6 2013

The first rioter to plead not guilty and go to trial is not going to jail. Spencer Kirkwood is facing a 30-day conditional sentence and two years probation for his role in the 2011 Stanley Cup riots. Is this a fair sentence? Criminal lawyer Paul Doroshenko joins host Michael Eckford to break down the sentence

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Province could end up paying millions in refunds to drunk drivers

Apr 14 2013

The provincial government has offered $2,000 refunds to hundreds of motorists who received immediate roadside suspensions for drinking and driving. A lawyer for some says the letter is an acknowledgment Victoria should not have additionally penalized all suspended drivers by forcing them to install an ignition breathalyzer lock on their vehicles and attend a responsible

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Breathalyzer machines used by police are error-prone

Mar 14 2013

Breath-analysis machines used by police forces across B.C. are incapable of differentiating between mouth and blood alcohol, are prone to human error and should not be used to issue immediate roadside driving suspensions, according to a leading forensic scientist. Those findings are outlined in an affidavit prepared by Nizar Shajani, a Burnaby-based forensic scientist who

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