So imagine if that cop had the power to suspend your license and take your car away because you didn’t stop the appropriate amount of time. And you had no way to challenge him.
That’s what is happening here.
I know why cops love this rule - zero consequences punishment! Someone call you a pig when you’re giving them a speeding ticket? Take their car away and suspend their license. After all, there is no due process and no challenging the 0.5 law!
It’s not the same thing at all. If you want to drink don’t drive. How about if we let our pilot’s have a cool one before flying, Dr.'s before surgery hmmmmmmmmmmm a car is also a dangerous tool.
The point is that you don’t need to even have any drinks. You don’t have to do anything wrong at all. What’s stopping a cop from just saying that you blew 0.5 and taking away your license and car? Nothing. There is no due process, you don’t get your day in court.
I don’t think anybody is questioning the drunk driving aspect of this. I think the problem is there is no due process.
Would you like cops to be able to give out speeding tickets without being able to challenge them? Speed kills! If you are breaking the law, then you should have to pay the speeding ticket no matter what! No day in court! A cop wouldn’t lie!
Sorry if I don’t trust the RCMP to be the judge and jury as well as the accusers.
Also, I don’t drink. Period. It’s against my religion, literally. But I also don’t trust that the RCMP won’t just take away my license because they don’t like my religion or they are having a bad day or they don’t like my accent or whatever. If I wanted that treatment I would move to Arizona.
It is not against any law to drive a vehicle with an .05 PERIOD Yet you would still have to pay near $500 and receive a suspension. For doing nothing wrong or against the law.
There IS a law against stealing though…right?
If it was a zero tolerance bill that was introduced would everyone still be up in arms, Or would that take away your right to drive slightly impaired?.
What would happen if you refuse to take the breathalyzer in the first place?
You’d be charged with refusing to blow
The thing is that you won’t even have to take a breathalyzer. Cop pulls you over, decides you’ve blown 0.5, and they impound your car and take away your license.
There doesn’t need to be silly little annoyances like ‘evidence’ and ‘probable cause’ when there is no court appearance and there is no due process.
So really, no need to even break out the breathalyzer. Yeah yeah yeah your word against the officer’s right? Well, no, since you don’t get your day in court at all, there isn’t even your word at all. What the cop writes in his report is final. Period.
That’s why this law sucks.
If you were actually charged with a crime, then you’d at least get to defend yourself. But remember, this isn’t a crime! Just an administrative act…
Eccentric, do you support the concept of due process?
Perhaps there should be a way to dispute falling in the gray area. And maybe some cops will abuse this new legislation to make things hard for people.
Still, I’m not worried…
This law will be overturned the next time some BC Liberal is pulled over for drunk driving.
I dunno about that, one of the Liberal MLAs was charged yesterday because of her drunk driving during the Olympics…
Yes, and she will get a day in court.
Unlike anyone facing the new law.
I will bet that the first BC Liberal that has his or her license taken away and car impounded without due process will change your mind for you.
I bet if it was an NDP government putting these laws in place that’d change your mind for you. Then again, I don’t know you–so it kinda makes me look like a prick when I make a statement like that.
If an NDP government passed a law that took away due process, I would also think it was a shitty law. I think due process is an important part of democracy. I also think the police in BC have proven over and over again that they are more than capable of being dishonest. Now they have a law where they can flex their muscles and not be challenged.
And you support this law.
That in itself is quite the coincidence…
I doubt the law would survive a charter challenge. Section 7 is very clear. Either whoever drew up the law is a noob, or they expect it to be scrapped by the courts.
I wonder why they just didn’t include the same kind of process that they have for traffic tickets?
It will drum up some cash before it gets thrown out and will distract people from being pissed off about HST… or so they hope. It’s not working for me… now i just have one more reason to want to punch every one of the BC liberals in the face.
Under the new law refusing to blow is an automatic 90 day driving suspension.
Section 7 of the Charter of Rights guarantees fundamental justice, which includes due process.
Section 11 of the Charter adds:
This law is just going to make money for lawyers as they overturn it in court.
Province had a ‘scientific experiment’ where the guy involved blew .08 after only four drinks. And he was 6’ 2" !!!
The guy ate nothing, drank 4 drinks one after another and was 148 lbs.
They proved the well known fact that beanpoles get drunk faster… I’m 6’ 2" it would take 6 years in a concentration camp or end-stage AIDs or cancer to get down to 148 lbs fer Christ’s sake!