Care and control of a motor vehicle while impaired

Not just impaired driving

You don't have to be actually driving a motor vehicle when your ability to drive is impaired by alcohol or a drug to be convicted for impaired driving or receive an immediate roadside prohibition.

Simply being able to set the vehicle in motion, engine running or not, may be enough because you have care and control of the motor vehicle while you are impaired.

If you are impaired, the best advice I can give in most cases is to stay out of motor vehicles unless you have a sober driver.

The Criminal Code of Canada defines "care and control" of a motor vehicle as being responsible for a motor vehicle in circumstances that create a realistic risk of danger to people or property:

• If the person is impaired by alcohol or drugs

• If the person has access to the vehicle, such as having the keys

• If the person has the intention to drive

• If the person is able to drive

The situation is particularly risky if you are occupying the driver's seat, but it is not impossible to be convicted if you are in another of the vehicle's seats. Police will investigate as if you were an impaired driver of a moving vehicle and unless there is evidence to show otherwise, allege you had the capability of setting the vehicle in motion.

At your trial or immediate roadside prohibition review, it is up to you to show you did not intend to drive. If you are not successful, you may be convicted or the prohibition may be confirmed. The penalty is the same as if you were found driving.

If you are charged criminally, a fine, various prohibitions,10 penalty points and a criminal record could result (if convicted).

While an immediate roadside prohibition will not give you a criminal record, the costs include the vehicle impound, administrative and licence reinstatement fees and at least three days without driving.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Why close a road after a crash?

Crashes and road closures

This article was written by Sgt. Harvey Nelson, the NCO in charge of the RCMP’s North (B.C.) District Integrated Collision Analyst and Reconstruction Services, and shared with permission.

Occasionally you may find yourself waiting in a long line of vehicles for extended periods because a crash has temporarily shut down a highway. Here are some insights as to why the RCMP, working with the area highways contractor, has closed the road.

A crash will fall into one of three categories—property damage, serious injury or fatality.

Typically, a property damage crash is not attended by the police unless it involves major damage, a road closure where vehicles involved in the collision block the roadway or potentially a criminal element, such as impaired driving.

More often than not, once photos are taken and tow trucks arrive, the highway is re-opened.

An injury collision involves attendance by the RCMP or municipal police depending on location, as well as emergency responders, including ambulances and the fire department. Highway closure time can depend on the number of people injured, how serious the injuries are and if any criminal offences were committed.

After all the factors have been considered and the scene has been examined for any physical evidence that may assist in the prosecution of a criminal charge, police may call out a “collision reconstructionist” to do a forensic examination of the scene. Finally, tow trucks will attend to remove the vehicles and the highway will be re-opened.

A fatality involves all of the above agencies, as well as a coroner. The B.C. Coroners Service has primary responsibility at a scene involving a death and directs the overall coroner’s requirement for the investigation, including when the fatally injured individual(s) may be moved or removed from the scene. In some cases, especially in more remote areas, the police must wait for the arrival of the coroner and subsequent direction relative to the deceased.

The preservation of physical evidence, followed by its documentation and interpretation, are key in these very sensitive investigations. Once the highway is re-opened, any evidence that has not been properly documented is lost. The police only get one chance to capture the evidence and when there is a criminal component, it becomes critical to any charges that may be considered later.

Consider this, if someone you know or employ was involved in a serious or fatal motor vehicle collision, would you want police officers to document it properly and ensure they have everything they need to support their findings? Or would you be satisfied with a rushed job with a general idea of what had occurred?

Forensic documentation of a collision is very time-consuming and detailed work, requiring proper procedural and mandatory documentation. Often, you may see nothing on the highway and wonder why it is closed. The reasons vary but it may be due to evidence that needs to be collected, body recovery or sand trucks, to name just a few.

Additional factors affect highway closure times such as, if it’s Highway 1 through Langley (in re Fraser Valley) or Highway 97 at Muncho Lake (three hours north of Fort Nelson), response times will vary because of:

• Location of the police traffic unit or general duty detachment (i.e., Langley, Lower Mainland Traffic in Chilliwack or Northern Rockies Traffic at Fort Nelson).

• Location of a collision reconstructionist (Lower Mainland Collision Reconstruction in Surrey or North District Collision Reconstruction in Fort St John, four hours south of Fort Nelson).

• The time of day.

• Travel time for the first responders and the collision reconstructionist to attend the scene.

• The severity of the crash. For example, whether highway rescue personnel are needed to cut people out of the vehicle(s) and how long it takes them to reach the scene, as well as any HAZMAT issues

• The types of vehicle(s) involved – commercial vehicles with HAZMAT loads require more specific equipment for recovery, which adds the time required to transport such equipment to the scene.

• Location and types of tow trucks needed.

• What physical evidence is there and if it take up the whole highway.

All the partner agencies involved in responding to a collision work hard and quickly to get the highway re-opened as fast as they can. Sometimes a quick re-opening is not possible.

(The responders) ask for patience from drivers who must wait because the relatives, employers, friends and colleagues of individuals involved in an injury or fatal collision want as thorough an investigation as possible.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

When can drivers stop on a crosswalk?

'Claiming' the crosswalk

Question: Please comment on the subject of when a vehicle claims the crosswalk and what pedestrians must do and not do in that situation. Pedestrians seldom wait for vehicles that have lawfully claimed the crosswalk. Sometimes they get upset with drivers and now there is conflict while the driver attempts to complete a maneuver and the pedestrian actively impedes the flow of traffic.

Answer: Drivers don't claim the crosswalk, pedestrians do.

The Motor Vehicle Act only allows a driver to stop on a crosswalk in a few specific circumstances:

Section 189 (1)—Except when necessary to avoid conflict with traffic or to comply with the law or the directions of a peace officer or traffic control device, a person must not stop, stand or park a vehicle as follows:

Also,

(e) on a crosswalk;

Watch any intersection with a crosswalk these days and I dare say that you will not find many drivers who behave properly. It is more common to find them making their initial stop either partly or fully on top of the crosswalk, especially if it is unmarked.

When the road is busy it is also possible to find pedestrians who are unwilling to wait for drivers. If it is not possible to stay within the boundaries of the crosswalk, a pedestrian must wait for the vehicle to proceed.

Again, according to the Motor Vehicle Act:

Section 180—When a pedestrian is crossing a highway at a point not in a crosswalk, the pedestrian must yield the right of way to a vehicle.

The section does not make a distinction between drivers who have stopped legally and those that have not.

Problems occur when road users have a sense of entitlement. No one likes to wait but safe road use means co-operation, not competition.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.

Hit and run: Protecting your interests

Rules for hit and run victims