BC Impaired Driving Lawyers. DUI, Drunk Driving Lawyers are listed under the following cities:

Abbotsford | Vancouver

Abbotsford Impaired driving lawyers:

Dykstra & Company
#201-2692 Clearbrook Road
Abbotsford, BC, Canada V2T 2Y8
Phone: 604.853.4793
Fax: 1-888-988-3122
Toll Free: 1-877-753-4793

Vancouver Impaired driving lawyers:

Jonathan J. Israels Law Corporation
Suite 760, 475 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 4M9

Phone: 604-488-1313 (24 Hour Answering Service)
Fax: (604-488-1413

BC makes impaired driving laws tougher.

Tough new impaired driving laws, the toughest in Canada, went into effect in British Columbia on September 20, 2010. Penalties can add up to anywhere between $600 and $4,060 for a first offence and mean more time without a licence or car. If you're caught more than once, the penalties get tougher.

Depending on your blood-alcohol content on a roadside screening test and the number of times you've been caught, your driver's licence may be suspended, your car impounded, you'll have to pay towing and storage fees, and you'll have to pay a monetary fee and a fee to reinstate your drivers licence. You may also be required to complete the Responsible Drivers Program, and be required to use an Ignition Interlock Device.

If your blood alcohol level is over 0.08, you'll be subject to Criminal Code charges. Criminal convictions of impaired driving in BC can result in additional fines and/or jail time and additional licence suspensions of one to five years.

Impaired Driving is a Federal Criminal Offence

Section 253(b) of the Criminal Code of Canada makes it an offence to operate or have care and control of a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment while your blood alcohol concentration is greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. This term is often shortened to 80 mg% or .08.

Other Criminal driving offences include:

Failing to provide a breath sample,
Dangerous driving,
Failing to stop after an accident,
Criminal negligence in the operation of a motor vehicle,
Driving while prohibited,
Engaging police in a pursuit, and
all the above (where applicable) resulting in bodily harm or death.

Should I retain an impaired driving lawyer?

You should seek the legal advice of a Canadian impaired driving lawyer if you are charged with impaired driving. Conviction is not automatic and there may be defences available to you to defeat the impaired driving charge. Legal fees are always a concern and may run you $2,000 to $5,000 plus expenses. Fees must be weighted against the costs of a conviction:

You may lose your job if you cannot drive;
You face a severe change in your life style if you cannot drive;
Addition Insurance premiums for up to six years;
You will have a criminal record;
In Ontario, persons convicted of drinking and driving offences must complete a remedial program at a cost of $475 plus GST before licence reinstatement.
Anyone convicted in Ontario of a drinking and driving offence, must install an ignition interlock in their vehicle once their driving privileges are restored. Before starting the car, the driver will have to blow into the device. If an impermissible level of alcohol is detected, the car will not start.

Persons convicted of a first offence have to use the device, which rents for about $100 a month, for at least one year; those convicted of a second offence can apply to have it removed after three years. A driver with more than two convictions must install the device permanently.
A criminal record could hurt your future employment and restrict your ability to travel. However, it should not prevent you from entering the United States as generally it is not a crime of moral turpitude under U.S. immigration law.