Having your licence prohibited or suspended after a DUI seriously impacts your life. It’s no surprise, then, that getting your licence back after a DUI tops the list of priorities for anyone in this situation.
In British Columbia, most people rely on their vehicles, whether it’s going to work, fulfilling family obligations or simply enjoying your life. So, once your prohibition ends, getting your licence back after a DUI is something you’ll want to do as soon as possible.
Here in BC, once your suspension ends, your licence is not automatically reinstated. So, if you received a six-month prohibition, you are still not legally allowed to drive once the six-month period finished. First, you must complete the process of having your licence reinstated and receive a new licence from ICBC before you are legally allowed to drive again.
This blog will look at what steps you need to take to get a new license, focusing on prohibitions for DUI, or impaired driving. The process is different if your licence was suspended for another reason.
Getting your licence back after a DUI: first steps
If the police give you an impaired driving charge, you must decide whether you are going to accept it or challenge it. If you plan not to challenge the DUI charge, you have to accept the consequences that come with it. In BC, that usually means a driving prohibition. Before you can begin the process of getting your licence back after a DUI, you have to complete the full period of your licence suspension. Until you’ve done that, there is no way to reinstate your licence.
In BC, there are several ways to suspend a person’s licence for drink driving.
Administrative Driving Prohibitions
Police might issue an Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) if they think the driver blew a “Fail” on an Approved Screening Device (ASD) or failed or refused to blow. The suspension lasts for 90 days.
Alternatively, you might get an Administrative Driving Prohibition (ADP). ADPs are issued to drivers if they have: a blood-alcohol concentration above 0.08%. The length of the ban is also 90 days.
Criminal DUI
There are three DUI-related offences under the Criminal Code: impaired driving, in which a person’s ability to drive is impaired to any degree by alcohol; driving with a blood-alcohol concentration at or above 0.08% or refusal or failure to comply with an ASD demand. If you are convicted of one of these offences, you must complete a minimum one-year driving suspension, in addition to a minimum fine of $1,000. If you haven’t paid all of your court fines you can also be prevented from getting your licence back. Pay any outstanding debts before you apply for reinstatement.
In more serious criminal DUI cases, such as those resulting in an accident and harm or death, a judge might sentence you to jail. If this is the case, you must also complete your full prison sentence before seeking to regain your licence.
Responsible Driver Program
If you were given an administrative driving prohibition by the police or by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, or you are convicted of a criminal impaired driving offence, you can be forced to enrol in the Responsible Driver Program before you can drive again. The course costs about $930. The good news is you can apply to have your licence reinstated after your prohibition ends and you may drive while participating in the program.
Ignition Interlock Program
In addition to the Responsible Driver Program, you might have to get an ignition interlock device installed in your vehicle before you can get your license back, depending on your driving record. The devices cost about $2,000 per year.
Premiums/Fees
Okay, so you have completed your driving prohibition, you have paid any outstanding court fines, you have enrolled in the Responsible Driver Program and had an Interlock Device installed in your car. You are now ready to start the actual process of getting your licence back.
First of all, you need to pay any amounts owed to ICBC for Driver Risk Premium. If you have one or more Criminal Code convictions or two or more roadside prohibitions, you have to pay this premium on top of your insurance.
Once you have paid that, go to an ICBC driver licencing office with your ID. You will have to pay a $31 short-term driver’s licence fee and a $250 reinstatement fee.
Save yourself the trouble
As you can see, getting your licence back after a DUI is a long and expensive process. Not only do you have to wait a long time and enroll in a time-consuming course you will have to pay lots of money at every step. If you have been charged for DUI you can save yourself a lot of stress and money by fighting the charge. Your best chance of success is to hire a good DUI lawyer. We deal day-in-day-out with impaired driving. Call us on 604-685-8889 for a free consultation or fill out our contact form to get started.
I live on Vancouver Island and 5 years Ago I went through the Responsible Drivers Program after a DUI. Now 6 months ago my father passed from cancer suddenly in my care and I had another DUI. both during routine stops with no one hurt. My life now is so much different then it was 5 years ago and I know the breathalyzer program will not work for me because I am a fish boat captain off the west coast and when I park my truck for weeks at a time and then come back for 2 days at a time I will not be able to have the breathalyzer unit checked during normal store hours. I understand this will be an issue for ICBC and I will work/pay them as they need to get my license back but not under the same circumstance or I will not be able to keep the same job at sea.
I got into an accident that only involved me do my dog cross into front of my and blocking my vision of the road which cause me to crash,officers show up to the sence,and ask to give me a breathilyzyer,on two different machines,the Frist one did not go through sussesfully and was put back into the vehicle when I ask to see the results,the officer refused to give me the resluts. And never changes mouth peices throughout any of the test,the second test they gave me I use the same mouth peice for both test and got a fail.
Alot of the info that the office put down in the narrative text report is in correct with time frames,for example between 2144-2149 I did four different blow test,on two different machines.
Also they have my last test time written at 2151,but in the narrative text hardcopy it says 2149.
So if the officer did the testing properly,it would mean between 2146-2149 I would have done the wt four times,reset the machine,changes four different mouth peices and have the same results,how is this possible yea