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Criminal Code Driving Offence Lawyers in Calgary
When you’re faced with impaired driving charges and need legal assistance, Roadlawyers provides the driving offence lawyers Calgary and other Alberta residents' need. Call us immediately if you’re faced with impaired driving offences such as:
Impaired driving offences are generally separated into three groups: impaired operation, driving over the legal limit, and refusing or failing to provide a breath sample. Each of these charges presumes that an individual has been operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol.
Impaired driving law is one of the most technical areas of criminal law. If you are charged with any of the above offences, your chances of successfully defending yourself in court are greatly increased if you have an experienced trial advocate on your side. That is why the team at Roadlawyers devotes the entirety of their resources to ensuring that they provide their clients with the excellent representation for which they have become known.
- Section 253(1)(a): Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle - This criminal charge focuses on an individual's ability to operate a motor vehicle. You will be charged with this offence if an officer believes that your ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol or drug. If an officer believes that your ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol or drug, and you were involved in an accident that caused bodily harm or death, you may also be charged with impaired operation causing bodily harm (section 255(2)) or death (section 255(3)).
- Section 253(1)(b): Driving “Over 80" - This criminal charge focuses on an individual's blood alcohol content while driving. The legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of blood. This is also known as ".08", "80 mg%" and "over 80". If the police seize a sample of your breath in an approved instrument, or if they seize a sample of your blood, using a licensed medical practitioner, and your blood alcohol content is over the legal limit, you will be charged. Further, if you were involved in an accident that caused bodily harm or death, you may also be charged with driving over the legal limit causing bodily harm (section 255(2.1)) or driving over the legal limit causing death (section 255(3.1)).
- Section 254(5): Refusing to provide a breath sample - This criminal charge focuses on individuals who refuse to provide a breath sample when faced with a lawful breath demand. Under the right circumstances, the police may demand that you provide a breath sample into an approved screening device (at the roadside) or into an approved instrument (at the detachment or checkstop bus). If you verbally or physically refuse to provide a sample in either of these circumstances, you may be charged with failing to provide a breath sample. If you are involved in an accident causing bodily harm or death and you refuse to provide a breath sample, you may be charged with refusing to provide a breath sample and causing bodily harm (section 255(2.2)) or causing death (section 255(3.2)).
- Section 254(5): Failing to provide a breath sample - This criminal charge is very similar to the one noted above. Effectively, if the police demand that you provide a breath sample into either an approved screening device or an approved instrument and your attempts are unsuccessful, you may be charged with failing to provide a breath sample. If you are involved in an accident causing bodily harm or death and you fail to provide a breath sample, you may be charged with failing to provide a breath sample and causing bodily harm (section 255(2.2)) or causing death (section 255(3.2)).
Driving Offences
If you are convicted of any of the above offences you will be sentenced to a minimum one-year criminal driving prohibition. This prohibition will prevent you from operating a motor vehicle on any street, road, highway, or other public place.
If you operate a motor vehicle during your prohibition, you may be charged with an offence under section 259(4) of the Criminal Code. If you are convicted of driving while disqualified, your sentence may range from a fine to jail.
Dangerous Driving Offences
If you operate a motor vehicle (or water vessel, train or aircraft) in a manner that endangers the public, you could face up to five years in prison, according to Canadian Criminal Code. Further, dangerous driving causing bodily harm could net you up to 10 years in prison. That’s why you need a lawyer who is knowledgeable of dangerous driving offence law.
Leaving the Scene of an Accident
Anyone involved in an accident – whether that accident occurs while you’re operating a motor vehicle, or water vessel – is obligated by law to stop and offer his/her name and address. Furthermore, if someone appears to be injured in the accident, you must offer assistance. Failure to stop at the scene of an accident can result in a punishment of up to five years in prison and 10 years if an injury has occurred. If you leave the scene of an accident knowing that someone has died or might die at the scene as a result of the crash, you could face life in prison.
