ICBC.com

Drinking and driving

Are you still making excuses?

Although excessive drinking and then getting behind the wheel is becoming widely unacceptable, some drivers are still rationalizing that a few drinks before driving is okay. The Excuses message takes common excuses for drinking driving and combines them with various consequences ranging from losing your license to injury and death.

CounterAttack advertising in B.C. is spreading the message that drinking any alcohol and driving could cost you more than you think.

TV ads:

Radio ads:

Posters:

If you were caught drinking and driving...

After getting pulled over, you could:

Be prohibited from driving for 24 hours
Have your vehicle impounded for 24 hours if it was suspected your ability to drive was impaired by alcohol or other substances. You wouldn't need to be over the legal limit.
Be asked to provide a breath sample into a roadside screening device, or a breathalyzer at the police station.

If you failed the breathalyzer, or refused to provide a sample, you would be served with an Administrative Driving Prohibition notice and prohibited from driving for 90 days. You could also be charged with a Criminal Code offence.

If convicted of a Criminal Code offence, you:

Would be prohibited from driving for at least a year. (If you had previous convictions, your licence would be suspended for three years.)
Would have to take a drinking driver rehabilitation program before you could get your driver's licence back.
Might need to have an ignition interlock device installed in your car.

If you drove while prohibited or suspended, your car could be impounded for a minimum of 60 days. You would also be subject to a $500 fine, jail time, and more driving prohibitions.

Drinking and Driving Penalties (PDF)

Penalties - Fact sheets from the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles

Facts about drinking and driving

Each year, there are over 400 motor vehicle fatalities in BC-with alcohol a contributing factor in about a quarter of this total. That means on average over the last five years, 116 have died annually in alcohol-related collisions.*

Learn the facts about drinking and driving (PDF)

^{* Police (TAS) Traffic Accident System data (2005 fatality count is not fixed. Fatality data continues to settle over time).}