FREDERICTON 鈥� Motorists caught in New Brunswick for driving while impaired will face additional immediate consequences under new penalties that take effect Jan. 1.
Changes to the province鈥檚 Motor Vehicle Act give police discretion to issue a roadside suspension or lay criminal charges. Previously, police could only lay criminal charges, sending drivers through a lengthy process in the province鈥檚 clogged court system.
鈥淚t streamlines the process, so it will help reduce the caseload inside the court system,鈥� said Cpl. Matthew Leblanc-Smith, a spokesman for New Brunswick RCMP.
Leblanc-Smith said the new rules impose immediate sanctions on some drivers 鈥� without giving them a criminal record. As well, he said, the changes allow the more serious offenders to be sent into the criminal justice system.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if (the changes are) going to work better as a deterrent, but it will give police more options and better tools,鈥� he said.
Under the new rules, drivers with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or above, or who refuse to give a breath sample, will get an immediate three-month licence suspension. The existing rules permit officers to seize vehicles, but starting Jan. 1 drivers caught with 0.08 or higher will have their vehicles immediately impounded for at least 30 days.
As well, they will have to equip their car for 12 months with an interlock device, which includes a mouthpiece into which a driver must blow. If alcohol is detected on the breath sample, the engine won't start.
Drivers with a blood alcohol level between 0.05 and 0.08 will get an immediate seven-day licence suspension and have their vehicle impounded for at least three days. In addition, drivers will have to take a safety course and pay various fines and fees.
Meanwhile, police will be required to lay criminal charges for cases in which impaired drivers are caught with a passenger under the age of 16, or in instances where there is bodily harm or death caused by a crash.
The legislative changes were introduced by the former Progressive Conservative government last spring and are modelled after similar measures in Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.
Steve Sullivan, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada, said his organization supports the changes in New Brunswick and believes they will make roads safer, while providing benefits to the justice system.
He called the new penalties 鈥渟ignificant and immediate.鈥�
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to wait six or eight months to see what happens in court where your charges may be stayed because of delays,鈥� said Sullivan, who added that impaired driving charges are among the most heavily litigated because of the stigma they carry and the damage they can do to someone's career.
鈥淪o from a driver鈥檚 perspective you are still facing serious consequences, but you do avoid a criminal record,鈥� he said.
According to the RCMP, crashes involving alcohol and drugs claimed 22 lives in New Brunswick in 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 30, 2024.
鈥� By Keith Doucette in Halifax
The Canadian Press
