You Just Received a 24-Hour Alcohol Prohibition in BC: What Now?

Driving a motor vehicle under the influence of ether alcohol or narcotics is a very serious issue both from a legal standpoint and from a safety perspective. Intoxicated motorists create genuine road risks to both themselves and other drivers. The real public safety concerns accompanying drunk driving incidents have understandably resulted in a strong public policy response that may affect you.

If you are caught driving under the influence, one of the most common punishments is a 24-hour driving prohibition. Under Section 215 of the Motor Vehicle Act, a law enforcement officer can issue a 24-hour driving prohibition for driving either while adversely affected by alcohol or drugs. The 24-hour driving prohibition is exactly what it sounds like: violators must forfeit their right to drive a motor vehicle for the next 24 hours. That said, a 24-hour prohibition carries other consequences, such as appearing on your driving record that are also important considerations.

The Procedure for Receiving a 24-Hour Alcohol Prohibition

A 24-hour prohibition itself is not a complicated issue to understand, but it can be frustrating to understand the procedure behind the grant of the prohibition. First, when peace officers begin to investigate impaired driving cases, they must have reasonable and probable grounds to believe that alcohol or drugs were involved. A peace officer cannot simply pull anyone off the streets and test for alcohol and drugs. Without that reasonable suspicion, the prohibition can be thrown out on appeal. Even if the peace officer later conducts either a breathalyzer or drug test, that later-provided evidence cannot be used to sustain the initial charge.

The Effect of a 24-Hour Driving Prohibition

As discussed in the introduction, a 24-hour driving prohibition is just that: a prohibition on driving a motor vehicle for the next 24-hours. However, this prohibition can have very serious consequences regardless of how short of a prohibition period it actually is. For some, the prohibition is merely an inconvenience. For others, however, the prohibition means a lot more. Many occupations require regular travel or long commute times. A 24-hour driving prohibition can thus result in the violator having to skip work or lose certain opportunities because he or she was unable to drive at that time.  Long haul truckers often require a clean driving record to maintain employment.

Another major consequence of the 24-hour driving prohibition is that it is recorded on your driving record. Having to explain that you are currently on a driving prohibitions may deny you particular career opportunities. Normally, one or two 24-hour driving prohibitions does not create a serious long-term problem. But, for those who have a tendency to drink in excess regularly, multiple 24-hour driving prohibitions could result in additional prohibitions from the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.

These reasons, and others, are why 24-hour driving prohibitions are so bemoaned by ordinary people. The driving prohibition is not only inconvenient, but it can have real consequences. As a result, appeals of 24-hour prohibitions are not uncommon, and sometimes the prohibitions are overturned.

How Can I Challenge My Prohibition?

If you believe that the prohibition was wrongfully given, you do have rights of appeal. First, you can appeal your 24-hour alcohol prohibition to an adjudicator working for RoadSafetyBC. This type of appeal is not a formal court appeal, but is rather an administrative appeal. If the adjudicator does not agree with your version of events, you can appeal further to a justice of the BC Supreme Court. If your prohibition was given for drug influence, however, your only right of appeal is directly to the BC Supreme Court – there is no intermediate appeal to an adjudicator for drug-related prohibitions.

If you have received a 24-hour driving prohibition, you should contact an experienced criminal lawyer as soon as possible if you want to appeal the prohibition.

24-Hour Prohibition vs Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP)

The 24-hour prohibition under Section 215 of the Motor Vehicle Act is sometimes confused with the Immediate Roadside Prohibition, but they are two different penalties with different consequences. Knowing which one you received changes everything about how to respond.

24-hour prohibition (Section 215). Issued where the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the driver’s ability is affected by alcohol or a drug but the evidence does not meet the threshold for a 90-day Fail IRP. The penalty is a 24-hour driving prohibition, a $200 administrative penalty, and a notation on the driving record. There is no vehicle impoundment beyond the immediate roadside, no mandatory Responsible Driver Program, and no ICBC Driver Risk Premium attached to the 24-hour itself.

Immediate Roadside Prohibition (Section 215.41 to 215.51). Issued where the driver provides a breath sample on an Approved Screening Device that registers in the Warn or Fail range, or refuses to provide a sample. The 90-day Fail IRP is the most serious of the IRP penalties: 90-day driving prohibition, 30-day vehicle impoundment, $500 administrative penalty, mandatory Responsible Driver Program ($930), ICBC Driver Risk Premium ($905/year for 3 years), and an ignition interlock requirement.

If you received an IRP rather than a 24-hour prohibition, the stakes are higher and the 7-day review window with RoadSafetyBC is critical. See our IRP defence page for the full process on those files.

How Long Does a 24-Hour Prohibition Stay on Your Driving Record?

A 24-hour prohibition under Section 215 is recorded on your ICBC driving record. The notation typically stays on the record for several years, and it is visible to law enforcement and to insurers. The practical consequences include:

• Insurance impact. ICBC reviews driving records when setting premiums. A 24-hour prohibition is not as costly as a Fail IRP or a criminal impaired driving conviction, but it can affect rates and good-driver discounts.
• Visibility on driver abstracts. Some employers (commercial drivers, professional licence holders, certain insurance applications) require driver abstracts that show the prohibition.
• Pattern evidence in future encounters. If you are stopped again and have a prior 24-hour prohibition on the record, that history informs the officer’s assessment.

The notation does not produce a criminal record. A 24-hour prohibition is an administrative penalty, not a Criminal Code conviction. It does not appear on a CPIC background check and does not affect travel to the US in the way that a criminal impaired driving conviction would.