Under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, if you are pulled over with a blood level between 50- 80 mgs, your licence could be suspended immediately. If your blood level is over 80mgs, you will be arrested and charged with DUI.
If you are found guilty in the province of Ontario with impaired driving, or any related conviction, you will inherit a criminal record. Your licence will be suspended for a minimum of one year, and you will have to pay a minimum fine of $1000. You must also enroll in a program called “Back on Track”, at a cost of $475 plus H.S.T. This program can take another ten months to complete. This is in addition to the year- long licence suspension. You must then pay another $150 to reinstate your licence.
This conviction stays on your record for a minimum of ten years. If you’re lucky to find an auto insurance company willing to insure you, your premiums will most likely triple or may even go higher than that.
If you are convicted in Ontario, you must have an ignition interlock device installed on your vehicle when your driving privileges are restored. If a certain level of alcohol is detected when you blow into the device, the car will not start. Those convicted of a first offence must use the device at a rental fee of about $100 per month. You must use the ignition interlock device for at least one year; a minimum of three years for a second offence, and a driver with more than two convictions must have the device installed permanently. Consecutive convictions will result in much longer suspensions and jail time.
The most devastating cost however, is the criminal record. This record will follow you when you attempt to travel or seek employment, and the shame, the embarrassment and the stigma that result from this kind of conviction will never go away.
If you are a fully licensed driver aged 21 and under, or a novice driver caught with any amount of alcohol in your blood, you will receive an immediate 24-hour roadside drivers licence suspension and will face a 30-day licence suspension, or cancellation of your licence, and a fine of $60-$500. |
