One day a report will be released on the Port Moody ASD calibration debacle. We assume it will come on a busy news day, or a Friday so it gets little attention from the media. What astounds us is that we figured out the problem in a matter of minutes and then confirmed our findings […]
Calibration Continue Reading »
As most people know, the Government has introduced the proposed changes to the Motor Vehicle Act to bring back “Fail” 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibitions, also known as IRPs or Automatic roadside driving prohibitions. You can find the press release here and the proposed legislation here. Apparently the press release was issued, there was a statement
New IRP Legislation Introduced Continue Reading »
When you are stopped by the police at the roadside, they must not delay you unnecessarily. It is your constitutional right in Canada to not be arbitrarily detained by a police officer. If you are detained, you must be informed of the reason, i.e. that you are under investigation and the crime for which you
A Proper Breath Test (PBT) Continue Reading »
From the moment cars were invented, we had a problem with people driving drunk. Not long after someone invented the Drunkometer. Our ancestors were drinking alcohol long before recorded history. There is evidence that suggests humans were drinking 10,000 years ago, and probably long before that. The process of distilling to produce spirits such as
The Drunkometer Continue Reading »
The feedback that we receive from our blog is inspiring. Mostly we get emails, but also phone calls and the odd thank-you on the street. We have over 130 postings. Most are about the Immediate Roadside Prohibition scheme, which merely reflects the fact that we have a lot to say about it (almost all of
What Is the Right Tool? Continue Reading »
The Police in BC are still busily handing out 3, 7 and 30 day IRP driving prohibitions for blowing WARN on an ASD, as well as 90-day Prohibitions for alleged refusal. We are disputing these prohibitions and still actively looking for cases to add to our Supreme Court challenge of the legislation. Recently we asked
Why you didn’t demand a second test Continue Reading »
One of our lawyers is a member of the California DUI Lawyer’s Association, so we follow the goings on with drinking/driving law in the Golden State. The authorities there are now dealing with revelations of roadside breath tests tainted by improper calibration. Although much of the law is different, there are a few similarities. There
Roadside Breath Tests Tainted by Police Negligence Continue Reading »
The Alco-Sensor IV, which is the roadside breathalyzer that we use in BC, is a sturdy, nicely-designed device that is well suited for its purpose, i.e. to screen drivers to determine who should be subject to breath tests on an evidentiary breath tester. One of the reasons that they should never be used to justify
Kill the Breathalyzer Continue Reading »
A while back we broke the story that Approved Screening Devices (ASD) used by the Port Moody Police Department were not being calibrated properly. As a result of our having gone public with this information, the Port Moody Police announced that they had an external unit investigate their actions. They never acknowledged that there was
Port Moody ASD Update: Continue Reading »
The most repugnant aspect of the IRP scheme in our view is the reliance on Approved Screening Devices for punishment. ASDs were never intended to be the basis of punishment. Firstly, the test is taken in violation of sections 10(a) and 10(b) of the Charter of Rights. Because of the Charter violations the courts have
3, 7 and 30-day Immediate Driving Prohibitions for Warn Continue Reading »
Mi-Jung Lee had another report on the IRP scheme, this time dealing with ASD accuracy problems and ASD malfunctions. She picked one of many inaccurate calibration tests to give as an example. The spokesman for the VPD said one with such a reading would have gone for repair, but she did not say that this
ASD Accuracy Problems Continue Reading »
What about breath tests and smoking? When you are stopped at the roadside for an impaired driving investigation, the police will often ask you to blow into a roadside breath testing device. These are known in law as Approved Screening Devices (ASDs). But what happens if you just finished a cigarette and you are asked
Roadside breath tests and smoking Continue Reading »
