We’ve been working very hard this week because now is the critical time to take decisive action on the interlock and RDP requirements that follow a 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibition.
You can read the previous posts to see what got us to where we are. Simply put, the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles took the position when the IRP scheme was introduced that if you were issued a 90-day IRP, the Responsible Driver Program (RDP) and interlock were mandatory. Of course, that’s not what the law said and not what our provincial politicians voted on when the IRP law came before the legislature.
The legislation says that the IRP triggers a review of your driving record. If upon the review of your driving record the Superintendent thinks it’s appropriate, then you must complete the so-called remedial requirements. The problem has been that the OSMV operated as though it was automatic. Apparently their view was that if you received one 90-day IRP, you probably drive drunk all of the time.
It seems the high-powered people in the Government were not interested in the evidence displayed on your driving record that you were law abiding. They operate on a faith-based system that assumes you must be really bad if you get caught.
It’s no wonder that they assume everyone is guilty. Instead of relying on evidence, they rely on zeal. And it’s a lot easier to make up evidence in your mind than to actually do the research. So instead of relying on the law, they relied on their own opinions and made the RDP and interlock automatic while still claiming that it was something that “may” or may not follow a 90-day IRP.
In any event, we’ve been working on this issue for a couple of years. We made many Freedom of Information requests, most of which were denied by the Government or stymied by ridiculous fee assessments designed to thwart our efforts. We hoped to get the actual numbers to show for a fact what we knew: everyone was forced automatically without any review of their driving record to do the RDP and get the interlock. In this battle the Government won. To date they managed never to give us the numbers. We know it was simply too damaging for them. The house of cards would fall if the public knew that they were operating this way.
Nevertheless, we formulate plans. Our long-term plan was to expose this dirty dealing by getting the numbers and the documents themselves. We got our hands on the policy documents, but not the numbers. The Government was probably feeling some relief. By denying our requests, they bought themselves some time. And then they made a major tactical error.
Torpedo in the water
On September 16, 2012, the Government mailed letters notifying about 1200 people that they would need to have an interlock installed on their vehicle and enroll in the RDP program. These were people who were given an IRP in the days leading up to the first Sivia decision. The OSMV hadn’t forced these people through the remedial programs (in Latin: purgatorias exigentia) because they were worried about having to refund fees once the law was deemed unlawful. So they held off. Until September.
When we first started getting calls from people who had received these letter, we knew the Government had made a major tactical error. Aside from the fact that they were disregarding their own law, they came across as bullies. Here we had a great number of people with otherwise perfect driving records who had had their licenses back for months. And the Government, with typical arrogance, decided arbitrarily to smack them down. It was dirty. And contrary to their own law. And so ugly that we knew the court wouldn’t stand for it.
We were angry because the Government had obstructed our FOI requests. When they sent these RDP and interlock letters, we knew we could take our shot. The torpedo was in the water. It was just a matter of time until it struck.
Taking action on the interlock and RDP
Right now we’re writing to demand that the Government abide by the law and conduct a good-faith review of each client’s driving record to determine whether the remedial requirements are really necessary and in the public interest. We want to act fast for tactical reasons. We may explain this another day. Again, we develop plans.
If you want us to try to lift the interlock and RDP requirement for you, send us an email at [email protected]. Now is the time to compel the Government to abide by their own laws. We feel that at this moment there is a window of opportunity. If you wait, the window might close.
Thanks
We became the defacto Immediate Roadside Prohibition resource center in the last few years because we’ve put so much effort into challenging this legislation. It’s not simply an issue of taking on IRPs. We have devoted ourselves to bringing down this law.
In the last 7 days we’ve talked to well over 1000 people who suffered the indignity of a 90-day IRP. We’ve received over 500 emails. It’s been great to hear from everyone.
What has been very rewarding for us is to learn that thousands of people have been following our blog over the last few years. We have supporters from all across B.C. who we didn’t even know. Many people who previously had never contacted us, wrote or phoned us in the last week to thank us for remaining a bastion of sanity in these difficult times.
We are feeling very humble at the moment. We have heard such kind and thoughtful words from so many insightful people in our province. Once again, we would like to thank you for reading our blog.
And to Wilfred, you are not alone.