What are the DUI and drinking and driving laws in Ontario?

---------------- CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO -------------------
0:00 - What are the DUI, or drinking and driving laws in Ontario?
0:32 - What does it mean to get charged with Drinking and Driving / Over 80?
0:59 - What does it mean to get charged with Impaired Driving by Alcohol or Drugs?
1:41 - What does it mean to get charged with Refuse Breathalyzer?
2:14 - I have been charged with a DUI, but I’ve also been charged under the Highway Traffic Act.
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CHAPTER 1: What are the DUI and drinking and driving laws in Ontario?
What are the DUI, or drinking and driving laws in Ontario?
There are three core DUI, or drinking and driving laws that the Police can charge you with.
Drinking and Driving / Over 80; or
Impaired Driving by Alcohol or Drugs; or
Refuse Breathalyzer
These three charges are criminal charges and are defined under the Criminal Code of Canada.
What does it mean to get charged with Drinking and Driving / Over 80?
The most common DUI charge is being charged with an “Over 80”.
This means that the Police believe you were operating a vehicle with an alcohol level greater than 80 mg of alcohol per 100 mL of blood.
What does it mean to get charged with Impaired Driving by Alcohol or Drugs?
This means that the Police believe your operation of a vehicle was impaired by Alcohol or Drugs.
You do not need to have a blood-alcohol level above 80 mg. In other words, you can still be charged and found guilty of this DUI charge even if your breath samples were below the legal limit.
You do not need to have any alcohol in your system. In other words, you can still be charged and found guilty of this DUI charge if the Crown can prove that your impaired operation of the vehicle was due to drugs in your system.
What does it mean to get charged with Refuse Breathalyzer?
This means that the Police believe you refused to take a breathalyzer test.
There are two situations in which the Police lay this charge.
First, where the Police believe you have refused to take the breathalyzer test.
Or second, where the Police believe that you pretended to blow into the breathalyzer machine.
I have been charged with a DUI, but I’ve also been charged under the Highway Traffic Act. What is happening here?
DUI related offences (such as Drinking and Driving / Over 80, or Impaired Driving by Alcohol or Drugs, or Refuse Breathalyzer) are defined in the Criminal Code of Canada.
The Criminal Code of Canada is a federal law. In other words, these charges under the Criminal Code apply to every person across Canada.
However, there are provincial laws that also cover DUI related offences. In Ontario, these laws are defined in the Highway Traffic Act. When you are charged under the Criminal Code, you may also be charged with offences under the Highway Traffic Act.
Next Law publishes these videos as a service to our website visitors for general informational purposes only. These materials do not, and are not, intended to, constitute legal advice. You should not act upon any such information without seeking professional counsel.

[@sw4966]

Warning range = ridiculous.

[@navrajjohal9053]

what if I refuse the breathalyzer and and other sobriety tests ?

[@navrajjohal9053]

are the refusal charges more severe than a DUI ?

[@navrajjohal9053]

wouldn't it be better for me to not do a Breath tests at all

[@NextLaw]

Navraj, those are excellent questions. Happy to discuss on a confidential, free call. You can book a call with me here - dan.nextlaw.ca

[@owenmclain3327]

Then you get a $2,000.00 fine and a tow and impound fee to add to that fine.