Driving While Prohibited cases are notoriously easy for the prosecution to prove.
This is because a very low standard of evidence is necessary to prove the offence. But, a lot of times the evidence required to prove somebody is guilty of driving while prohibited is evidence actually provided by the driver themselves based on their actions and comments at the roadside.
To avoid this from happening to you, here are the top 5 mistakes people make when charged with Driving While Prohibited.
Admitting to the officer that they were prohibited
Under no circumstances should you admit to the police that you are guilty of something, especially if they are accusing you of it.
You do have a legal obligation to produce a license and state your name and address, but if you don’t have a license, you do not have a legal obligation to explain that.
Providing an explanation to the police can be sufficient in most cases to prove knowledge of the prohibition. This means that even if there are defects in the police evidence, your own admission can be used against you in the case.
Lying to the police
Many people make the mistake in Driving While Prohibited investigations of providing false information to the police about their identities.
They may say, for example, that they are their brother or sister, or friend, and then give that person’s name and information.
The problem is, that the police don’t just rely on a name, they will also ask for certain information, including the person’s driver’s license keyword. This is a password that people set up when they get their driver’s license.
If you don’t know all this information about another person, because it’s not necessarily the information we generally memorize, then you are liable to be arrested for obstruction of justice. This will ultimately turn a bad situation worse.
Pleading Guilty
Many people believe that because they were caught Driving While Prohibited that they should go to court and plead guilty.
This is a massive mistake. While these cases are complex and it may seem hopeless at the outset, there may be defences that can help you get through the matter without being convicted of Driving While Prohibited.
If you forgo seeking legal advice, and then go to court and plead guilty, you’re giving up your opportunity to do this.
Pleading guilty right away is also a big mistake because once you have a Driving While Prohibited on your record, the second conviction triggers mandatory jail.
Attempting to flee from the police
Many people who are Driving While Prohibited are aware of the fact that they may get caught. For this reason, they may attempt to escape the police, by either just avoiding them when they see them out or when they are in situations where they are going to come into contact with the police.
We’ve seen cases where prohibited drivers have attempted to flee from the police by evading a roadblock, or by parking their car and walking away.
This is obviously not a good way to deal with this situation if you’re Driving While Prohibited.
First of all, failure to stop by police is a criminal offence and has worse consequences than Driving While Prohibited.
Failure to stop at a roadblock puts the lives of officers and civilians at risk, creating a public safety danger, and would make it less likely that something favourable will happen in court for you.
If you park your car and walk away, the police have methods of determining that you were behind the wheel and can find out if was you driving the car.
Not taking steps to solve the problem that led to them Driving While Prohibited
Many times, people who are Driving While Prohibited are under the mistaken impression that they can’t reinstate their license while the court proceedings are taking place. They don’t take steps to pay their debts with ICBC, get a new license, or whatever else it is that had put them in the situation that had them prohibited in the first
place.
This is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make in your case. Prosecutors and judges are much more likely to be comforted by the fact that you have solved the underlying issue that led to your driving prohibition in the first place.
There are steps you can take to show that you are committed to being a safe driver, taking things like BC safe driving course (link) or other safe driving programs, or participating in counselling. All of these things demonstrate not just remorse, but also rehabilitation.
Doing nothing to fix your personal situation is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in a Driving While Prohibited case.
If you have questions about how you can help yourself in your Driving While Prohibited case, and what you can do to put yourself in the best position for success, we are always happy to take your call.