We have represented thousands of clients who were issued immediate roadside prohibitions and administrative driving prohibitions. Several weeks ago, one client expressed that they were concerned when asked to do a sobriety test because the ground was wet and somebody had slipped while walking near the scene. We were confused when we heard this, because the connection was not clear to us. We then realized the client had a very different understanding of what a sobriety test entailed.
Like several other clients that we have represented, that client assumed they were going to be asked to do a “walk in a straight line” sobriety test. This assumption is not uncommon. Every once in a while, we come across clients who profess that the issuing police officer never made them walk in a straight line or any sobriety test aside from a breathalyzer test.
These tests are in fact a lot less common than people think. While they are used in Canada and in British Columbia in some circumstances, most impaired driving-related driving prohibitions are issued on the basis of roadside breathalyzer tests. Police are not required to do a standardized field sobriety test, which would include walking the line, if requested to do them or in order to arrest a person for impaired driving.
In British Columbia, police officers cannot issue an immediate roadside prohibition on the basis of a “walk in a straight line” test. In British Columbia, in the vast majority of cases, the driver who is suspected of impaired driving is asked to blow into a breathalyzer (although if the driver is unconscious, blood samples may be taken to determine blood alcohol content levels). Immediate Roadside Prohibitions are based solely on the roadside breathalyzer result. Even if you were able to demonstrate that you can walk perfectly in a straight line, it would not change the way the law is written or the outcome of the breathalyzer that was administered.
While this may seem unfair if you can demonstrate your sobriety by walking in a straight line, in some respects it may be more fair otherwise. People may fail to walk in a straight line for various reasons unrelated to intoxication. The driver may have mobility issues. The driver may have been driving for hours each day and their legs are stiff. The driver may have arthritis. The driver may simply be nervous. The point to take away is this: do not expect police officers in British Columbia to administer a “walk in a straight line” test to determine driver sobriety. And do not ask to prove your sobriety and get such a test, because police have no obligation to give you one.
Of course, roadside breathalyzers and breathalyzers at police stations do not always accurately analyze blood alcohol content levels. Many variables can, and have, caused falsely elevated blood alcohol content levels. At Acumen Law we are well aware of these variables and can use our knowledge of these variables to help you fight your immediate roadside prohibition or administrative driving prohibition. Acumen Law has represented countless individuals who have been issued such prohibitions and can help you too.
There are circumstances in which physical coordination tests can be used to issue roadside prohibitions. These occur typically for 24-hour prohibitions for drugs, or in circumstances of suspected drug impairment. However, those prohibitions have a different dispute process and different defences and generally relate to drugs and not alcohol. They are far less common than alcohol-related prohibitions.
If you have been issued an immediate roadside prohibition or administrative driving prohibition, call or email us right away. We have the experience and expertise to ascertain whether you were unfairly issued such a prohibition and your chances of successfully disputing the prohibition.