The RCMP is reminding motorists that legislation regarding roadside alcohol screening by police officers has changed.
Kitimat RCMP media relations officer Cst. Kurt Fink said not many motorists are aware that anyone operating a motor vehicle who is lawfully stopped currently can be required to provide a breath sample.
“Mandatory screening will assist the police with keeping the roads safe by not only detecting but hopefully deterring impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel,” said Fink. “The RCMP is committed to keeping Kitimat’s roads and the public safe.”
The change to the legislation brought about by Bill C-46, which came into effect in December last year, is not a new concept and is currently authorized in over 40 countries worldwide.
Before, police had to have a reasonable suspicion that a motorist was under the influence of alcohol before requesting a roadside test, based on factors like the smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle, slurred speech or an admission by the motorist that they had been drinking.
Now drivers have no choice but to submit to a breathalyzer test when requested to do so by the police.
According to the Department of Justice website, police officers “who have an approved screening device on hand will be able to test a breath sample of any driver they lawfully stop, even without reasonable suspicion that the driver has alcohol in their body.”
Drivers who refuse to provide a breath sample could be subject to criminal charges.
Mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) can only be used on a driver who has been lawfully stopped, by a police officer with an approved screening device at hand.
Motorists can be convicted if they are found to have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or over 80mg within two hours of driving.
The two-hour window aims to prevent risky and dangerous behaviour that decreases road safety by eliminating the “bolus drinking” defence (the ‘last drink’ defence) and the “intervening drink” defence.
In a bolus drinking defence, a driver would admit that their BAC was at or over 80mg at the time of testing but claim it was not at the time of driving because they consumed a significant amount of alcohol just before or while driving, arguing that the alcohol was still being absorbed and, not at or over 80.
In an intervening drink defence, a driver claims to have consumed alcohol after operating the vehicle but before testing, often used after an accident where the driver claimed they drank to calm their nerves. This defence made it difficult for law enforcement to determine the actual BAC at the time of driving.
MAS has been introduced in a number of countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, where it has contributed to a reduction in accidents and deaths on roads and highways.
In Ireland, it has been credited by the Road Safety Authority with a 23 per cent reduction in road deaths in the 11 months after introduction. In New Zealand, visible mandatory-screening checkpoints were credited with a 32 per cent reduction in crashes.
