If you’ve been pulled over and issued a 90-day prohibition for DUI in British Columbia you are probably confused, afraid, and not sure what to do next. Dealing with a 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) in British Columbia requires prompt action. Here’s what you need to do:
- Understand the IRP:
The 90-day IRP is issued for driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) over 0.08% or refusing a breath test. It’s an administrative penalty separate from criminal charges. You do not get a criminal record for the prohibition but there are still severe sanctions associated with it. These include financial consequences of a $500 fine, a $250 license reinstatement fee, a $31 short term license administration fee.
Your vehicle is also impounded for 30 days. You are responsible for the towing and storage costs associated with that.
At the end of the 90-day prohibition, you will get a referral to the Responsible Driver Program, which costs $930 including tax. You will have to enroll in that within 45 days of the date of your referral, but then you can drive while you complete it for up to one year. You must complete it in that year to be able to continue to drive.
If you have previously had any alcohol or drug-related incidents on your driving or criminal record in the last 5 years, you will also have to install an Ignition Interlock in your car for a minimum of 6 months. If you have previously done the Responsible Driver Program in the last five years, you may also not be allowed to re-license until you complete the Responsible Driver Program.
So while the consequences may not include a criminal record, they are expensive and can be long-lasting. The IRP also remains on your driving record forever.
2. Request a Review:
You have seven days from the date of the prohibition to request a review. This can be done online or in person at an ICBC driver licensing office. The review can be for either the prohibition itself or the impoundment of your vehicle. That being said, if you dispute the prohibition and are successful, the impound is automatically revoked as well.
There are advantages to having a lawyer file the dispute on your behalf. While you are not required to have a lawyer do so, at our office we prefer to attend ICBC and fill out the application for review in person ourselves. This allows us to schedule the hearing date to our availability and with sufficient time to permit you to prepare for the hearing.
Having a lawyer fill out the review also ensures it is completed correctly and properly submitted. There are several steps involved in disputing the prohibition once the application is being completed, and so performing those correctly is crucial to the review going ahead.
Finally, a lawyer can obtain the police report and disclosure documents immediately if they file in person at ICBC. This avoids the up to 24-hour delay when you file yourself online in having them sent by email, and also avoids internal delays with ICBC uploading the information to RoadSafetyBC’s systems.
3. Prepare for the Review:
After we have filed for review, we will help you to prepare for the review hearing. Our first step will be to review the police report, obtain further information from you, and identify any possible defences in the case. If we decide the case is worth pursuing to a hearing then we will start the process of preparing for the hearing and obtaining the necessary evidence to hopefully win the case.
These steps can include collecting any evidence that might support your case, such as witness statements, video footage, or any other relevant documents. We provide detailed guidelines for you on how to prepare and submit all this required information so that you can leave no stone unturned. If appropriate, we will also work with you to draft an affidavit to put your version of events forward for the review hearing.
Internally, leading up to the review, we will be drafting written submissions on many areas in the police report or unresolved issues in the law, as well as making procedural submissions in the case. We will also be submitting case law, manuals, scientific studies, and precedents as appropriate to RoadSafetyBC so they are before the adjudicator during the review hearing.
4. Conduct the Review Hearing:
Once we have prepared and submitted all the evidence and material in the case, the last remaining step is for us to conduct your review hearing. The benefit of having a lawyer is that your lawyer can take care of the review hearing on your behalf. This means that you do not have to interrupt your plans, or take time off work to speak to the adjudicator.
We know that receiving an IRP is stressful, and having to explain yourself to a faceless government entity does not make anything less stressful. That is why we put your evidence and corroborating documents in written format, so we can focus on what we do best: oral advocacy in your case.
After the hearing we will update you on how the hearing went and wait for a decision to be rendered.
Ultimately, in making the decision about a lawyer for an IRP, you should choose a lawyer you feel comfortable with and who has a proven track record in handling IRP cases successfully. Make sure to contact us as soon as possible to ensure you meet the seven-day deadline for requesting a review.