Script 192 gives general information only, not legal advice. If you have a legal problem or need legal advice, you should speak to a lawyer. For the name of a lawyer to consult, call Lawyer Referral at 604.687.3221 in the lower mainland or 1.800.663.1919 elsewhere in British Columbia.

This script explains five types of driving prohibitions in BC. It also describes what happens if you are charged with driving a motor vehicle while prohibited from driving under the BC Motor Vehicle Act and the penalties if you are convicted.

Five types of driving prohibitions

1. BC Superintendent of Motor Vehicles prohibition
The BC Superintendent of Motor Vehicles can prohibit you from driving in any of the following cases:

• the Superintendent considers it in the public interest – for example, if you have a bad driving record.
• your driver’s license was suspended in anther province or state.
• you don’t pay money, called damages, that a court orders for a vehicle accident in which you were the driver or vehicle owner.
• you don’t take a medical exam that the Superintendent orders.

2. 24-hour prohibition
If you have care or control of a vehicle and the police have reasonable grounds to believe that your ability to drive is affected by alcohol or drugs, they may:

• require you to remove your vehicle from the road.
• require you to give them your driver’s licence.
• give you “notice” of a 24-hour prohibition. This “notice” is a document. 
• impound your vehicle (have it towed) to prevent you from driving during the 24-hour prohibition.

If the police give you this prohibition without testing your breath, you can try to cancel the prohibition by immediately asking the police to test your breath and then giving them a breath sample. If your blood-alcohol level is not over 50 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood, the police have to cancel the prohibition. However, if your blood-alcohol level is over 80 milligrams, the police can charge you with a criminal offence – check script 190, called “Drinking and Driving”.

If the prohibition is because of alcohol, you can ask the Superintendent to review the prohibition within 7 days of getting the notice. However, even if you do this, the Superintendent can cancel the prohibition only if you were not the driver or you did not have care or control of the vehicle or the police failed to test your blood alcohol when you asked.

3. Automatic roadside driving prohibitions
If you have care or control of a motor vehicle and the police reasonably suspect that you have alcohol in your body, they may demand that you blow into a hand-held breath-testing device at the side of the road. (Script 190 has more on this.)

If the device shows a “warn”, the police will:

• take your driver’s licence and give you a notice that you are prohibited from driving.
• impound your vehicle for 3 clear days (not including weekends).
• immediately prohibit you from driving for 3 clear days (longer for subsequent incidents).

If the device shows a “fail” or if you refuse to provide a breath sample, the police will:

• take your driver’s licence.
• prohibit you from driving for 90 days.
• impound your vehicle for 30 days.

They may also arrest you and take you to the police station for further breath testing.

You can ask for a review of the prohibitions within 7 days. But the grounds for disputing the prohibition are very limited and most prohibitions are upheld. And usually, the prohibition will be over before the review is held.

4. Automatic prohibition for Criminal Code conviction
You automatically lose the right to drive if you are convicted of a Criminal Code offense related to motor vehicles. For example, if you are convicted of impaired driving, dangerous driving, or hit and run, you are automatically prohibited from driving for 12 months. This is the penalty for a first offense –unless a judge orders a longer prohibition. For a second conviction, you will be prohibited from driving for 3 years. For third and subsequent convictions, you will be prohibited from driving indefinitely.

Starting June 15, 2005, if you are convicted of a Criminal Code offense relating to motor vehicles, you have to complete a user-pay rehabilitation program. This type of program may also be required if you apply for a driver’s licence and you have received:

• two 90-day administrative driving prohibitions within 5 years,
• three 24-hour driving prohibitions within 5 years, or
• a combined total of three 24-hour prohibitions or 90-day prohibitions within 5 years.

If you are convicted of 3 of more alcohol-related Criminal Code offences, you can re-apply for a driver’s license after 5 years if you successfully complete the rehabilitation program.

5. Court-ordered prohibition
If you are convicted of any of a wide variety of driving offences, the judge may prohibit you from driving, in addition to your sentence, or penalty.

If you are charged with driving while prohibited
To convict you of this offense, the prosecutor must usually prove 3 things beyond a reasonable doubt:

• that you were driving,
• that you were prohibited from driving, and
• that you knew you were prohibited from driving.

The prosecutor will normally use several documents to show these things. You should carefully review these documents with a lawyer before deciding how to proceed. For more on defending yourself, check script 211, called “Defending Yourself Against a Criminal Charge”.

Penalties for driving while prohibited

Fine, jail, or both
For a first offence, a judge must fine you at least $500. But the judge does not have to send you to jail, and usually doesn’t.

For a second or further offense, a judge will fine you at least $500 but not more than $2000 and must send you to jail for at least 14 days.

Driving prohibition of 12 months or longer
In addition to a fine and jail term, if you’re convicted of driving while prohibited, even if it’s your first offence, you will be prohibited from driving for at least 12 months. The judge can consider your driving record and impose a longer prohibition, in addition to the automatic 12-month prohibition.

Vehicle impoundment
There are other penalties too. If the police catch you driving while prohibited, they will impound, or take away, your vehicle. It will also be impounded if you are suspended from driving for Criminal Code convictions related to motor vehicles or if you are prohibited from driving because you are medically unfit.

The impoundment lasts 60 days for a first incident and 90 days for subsequent incidents in the previous two years. You have to pay all costs of the impoundment before you get your vehicle back. You can ask the Superintendent to review the impoundment within 30 days of the date of the notice of impoundment. The impoundment notice explains how to apply for a review.

Summary and more information
Driving while prohibited is a complex offence with severe penalties. If you are charged, you should at least talk to a lawyer and get some advice. Then you can decide whether you want to hire a lawyer to represent you in court.

Check script 190, called “Drinking and Driving” and script 211, called “Defending Yourself Against a Criminal Charge”.

The Motor Vehicle Act is available at www.bclaws.ca.

[updated October 2010]

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