Alcohol and drug related driving prohibitions and suspensions

Alcohol- and drug-affected driving are leading causes of death on the roads. Police are trained to recognize the effects of alcohol and drugs on drivers. Police remove drivers from the road by issuing driving prohibitions and licence suspensions. Learn more about them here.

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12-hour licence suspensions (for Graduated Licensing Program participants)

12-hour suspensions apply to Graduated Licensing Program participants only.

If a Graduated Licensing Program driver has any alcohol, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis) or cocaine in their body, they may be served with a 12-hour suspension.

What happens

  • You must surrender your licence. You must not drive until your suspension is over and you have recovered your licence from the police.
  • After your suspension is over, you'll start your 24-month (N) licensing period over.
  • If you're a learner (L) you must reattempt all testing.

Other consequences

  • RoadSafetyBC will review your driving record and may add prohibitions. For more information, visit Driver Improvement Program.
  • You'll face the consequences of a fully licensed driver, if:
    • You have a blood alcohol content (BAC) not less than 50 milligrams (mg) of alcohol in 100 millilitres (mL) of blood (0.05 BAC), or
    • You're affected by drugs

For more information, visit Driving while affected by drugs or alcohol.

Requesting a review

12-hour suspensions can’t be reviewed. Talk with the police detachment shown on your Notice of Driving Prohibition if you disagree with your suspension.

 

24-hour driving prohibitions

Police can issue a 24-hour prohibition if:

  • They have reasonable grounds to believe alcohol or drugs have affected your ability to operate a motor vehicle, and
  • You had care or control of a vehicle

What happens

  • You must surrender your licence. You can only recover it when your prohibition ends.
  • Your prohibition starts as soon as you're served your Notice of Driving Prohibition. It's effective for a full 24 hours.
  • Police will send a copy of your prohibition notice to ICBC. The prohibition will remain on your record permanently. RoadSafetyBC may consider it in a review of your driving record. A review may result in additional sanctions under the Driver Improvement Program.
  • Police don't have to request:
    • A breath sample using an approved screening device to determine your blood alcohol concentration, or
    • A driver to submit to a physical coordination test
  • If you believe alcohol has not affected your ability to drive, you can ask police to test your blood alcohol content on an approved screening device
  • If you believe a drug has not affected your ability to drive, you can ask police for a prescribed physical coordination test

Other consequences

Requesting a review

You can apply for a review of a 24-hour prohibition for driving while affected by alcohol or drugs. You must apply to RoadSafetyBC within seven days of receiving your prohibition. We do not accept late applications.

Grounds for a review

If you were prohibited for alcohol-affected driving, you can apply for a review because:

  • You were not the driver or did not have care or control of the vehicle
  • The police officer failed to administer a blood alcohol test when requested

If you were prohibited for drug-affected driving, you can apply for a review because:

  • You were not the driver or did not have care or control of the vehicle
  • The police officer failed to administer the prescribed physical coordination test when requested

Apply for a review

You will need the date and location of your prohibition and all the information that supports your request.

Once you submit your request, you'll receive the police report about your prohibition and the date of your review hearing. You may then submit evidence. RoadSafetyBC can’t consider evidence received after the review date.

Complete the Application for Review of a 24-Hour Prohibition available from any ICBC driver licensing office. Submit it to RoadSafetyBC with the application fee.

A RoadSafetyBC adjudicator will review your application and make a decision. You'll receive the decision by mail.

Review policies and procedures

See 24-Hour Prohibition Reviews: Policies and Procedures [PDF, 306KB] for the review policies.

More information

For more information about 24-hour driving prohibition reviews, contact RoadSafetyBC's Appeal Registry.

 

Driving prohibitions–3-, 7-, 30- and 90-day

Police can issue a 3-, 7-, 30- or 90-day prohibition if they find that alcohol has affected your ability to drive.

Police can demand a driver provide a breath sample on an approved screening device if:

  • You had driven or had care or control of a vehicle,
  • They have reason to suspect you have alcohol in your body, or
  • They have an approved screening device readily available.

If you provide a breath sample that results in a Notice of Prohibition, Police must offer you a second opportunity to give a sample. Your second breath sample must be into a different approved screening device. If the two results differ, the lower result prevails.

What happens

If the device reads Warn your sample shows a blood-alcohol content of not less than 0.05, police may:

  • Take your licence
  • Issue you a Notice of Driving Prohibition. Your prohibition starts right away. Its length depends on previous prohibitions. You'll get a:
    • 3-day prohibition if it's the first time in the Warn range
    • 7-day driving prohibition if it's your second time in the Warn range within five years
    • 30-day driving prohibition if it's your third time in the Warn range within five years

If the device reads Fail your sample shows a blood-alcohol content of not less than 80 milligrams, police may:

  • Take your licence
  • Issue you a Notice of Driving Prohibition. Your prohibition starts right away. You must not drive for 90 days.

Or police may choose to:

For more information, visit Immediate Roadside prohibition penalties.

Other consequences

Applying for a review

Apply online for a review of a 3-, 7-, 30- or 90- day driving prohibition.

 

90-day administrative driving prohibitions

Police may serve you with an administrative driving prohibition if:

  • Your blood alcohol concentration was equal to or greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood
  • Your blood drug concentration was equal to or greater than the amount prescribed in the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations for that drug within two hours of operating a vehicle
  • Your combined blood alcohol and drug concentration was equal to or greater than the amount prescribed under the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations where alcohol and that drug are combined within two hours of operating a motor vehicle

Police may also serve you with an administrative driving prohibition if you:

  • Operated a vehicle while your ability to operate it was impaired by a drug or a combination of alcohol and a drug as determined by a drug recognition expert
  • Failed or refused without a reasonable excuse to follow a demand under section 320.27 or section 320.28 of the Criminal Code regarding the operation of a motor vehicle

Evaluation methods

Blood drug and blood alcohol concentrations

Prescribed blood drug concentrations (BDC) for
an administrative driving prohibition served under s.94.1 (a.1)
Item Drug Concentration
1 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) 5ng/mL of blood
2 Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) Any detectable level
3 Psilocybin Any detectable level
4 Psilocin Any detectable level
5 Phencyclidine (PCP) Any detectable level
 
6 Monoacetylmorphine Any detectable level
 
7 Ketamine Any detectable level
 
8 Cocaine Any detectable level
 
9 Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) 5mg/L of blood
10 Methamphetamine Any detectable level

Combined Prescribed Blood Drug Concentrations & Blood Alcohol Concentrations for an ADP served under s.94.1 (a.2)
Drug Alcohol Concentration Drug Concentration
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) 50 mg/100 mL of blood 2.5 ng/mL of blood

Drug Recognition Expert evaluation for an administrative driving prohibition served under s.94.1 (a.3)

An evaluation conducted by a Drug Recognition Expert is:

  • Measuring your pulse and determining that your pupils are the same size and that your eyes track an object equally
  • Eye examinations, which comprise:
    • The horizontal gaze nystagmus test
    • The vertical gaze nystagmus test
    • The vertical gaze nystagmus test
    • The lack-of-convergence test
  • Divided-attention tests, which comprise:
    • The Romberg balance test
    • The walk-and-turn test
    • The one-leg stand test
    • The finger-to-nose test, which includes the test subject tilting the head back and touching the tip of their index finger to the tip of their nose in a specified manner while keeping their eyes closed
  • An examination, which comprises measuring the blood pressure, temperature and pulse
  • An examination of pupil sizes under light levels of ambient light, near total darkness and direct light and an examination of the nasal and oral cavities
  • An examination, which comprises checking the muscle tone and pulse
  • A visual examination of the arms, neck and, if exposed, the legs for evidence of injection sites

Other consequences

  • If you're charged under the Criminal Code, you must attend court
  • If you're convicted, you will face other criminal conviction driving prohibitions
  • You must also pay a Driver Risk Premium

Requesting a review

Apply online for a review of an administrative driving prohibition.

 

Immediate roadside prohibition penalties

 
Approved Screening Device Result Warn
1st Incident		 Warn
2nd Incident 3		 Warn
3rd Incident 3		 Fail
(or refuse to provide a breath sample)
Driving Prohibition Length 3 days 7 days 30 days 90 days
Vehicle Impoundment Length 3 days  7 days 30 days 30 days
Vehicle Impound and Towing Fees 1 $150+ $230+ $680+ $680+
Administrative Penalties $200 $300 $400 $500
Licence Re-instatement Fee $250 $250 $250 $250
Total 2 $600 $780 $1,330 $1,430

Please note: The costs above are subject to change and do not include taxes. Drivers may also be referred to remedial programs which may result in more fees.

1. Based on 10km tow distance of a standard size vehicle. Greater distances and oversized vehicles will result in higher fees.
2. Does not include potential increases in insurance premiums.
3. Within five years.

 

Driving prohibition on a criminal conviction

It's a Criminal Code offence to drive when your ability to do so is impaired by alcohol, drugs or both.

It is also a criminal offence to drive with:

  • More than 0.08 blood alcohol content, or
  • A blood-drug concentration equal to or greater than a prescribed value