The penalties will vary depending on if and when you were charged. If you were charged criminally, and you provided samples of breath, the minimum fine for readings between 80 and 119 mg% will remain $1000.00. For readings between 120 and 159 mg% the minimum fine will be $1500.00. A blood alcohol level of 160 mg% or more, or any kind of refusal, will result in a minimum $2000.00 fine. There will also be a minimum one-year driving prohibition upon conviction, but the Court may or may not impose a mandatory waiting period before allowing access to the Ignition Interlock program.
If you were given a Notice of Administrative Penalty and you will be given a suspension of 90 days (when you cannot drive at all) followed by another 12 months (for a “First Occurrence”), 36 months (for a second occurrence) or a lifetime suspension (for a third occurrence). You may be able to use Ignition Interlock to drive during the additional 12 months, 36 months or lifetime portions of the license suspension. Your vehicle will be seized and impounded for 30 days. To get the vehicle out of impound typically costs between $1800-$3000, depending on the location. Your insurance will go up (clients have told us the increase is roughly $5000/year). There are reinstatement conditions which must be satisfied including a mandatory course, a possible driving test, etc.
If you were convicted of impaired driving under the Criminal Code, you may be able to appeal. If the NAP was confirmed, you may be able to apply for Judicial Review. We invite you to listen to our podcast series, Legal Eyes (under Resources), specifically the episode called, “The Wild Wild West of Judicial Review” for more information. Of course, you can also call us so we can discuss these options in more detail.