I was coming home from shopping today and had to stop for a drunk driver.
He missed his turn, so he backed up and backed down into a ditch, then pulled back out, turned around, then drove frontwards into the same deep ditch and rolled over!
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beermeplease · M
did anyone phone the cops?
swirlie · 31-35
@beermeplease
YES! I called! When the cops showed up 3 minutes later, I was standing on the edge of the road looking down the embankment at the inverted pickup truck at the bottom.
The cop was reluctant to scale the side of the embankment himself because we both knew he'd never make it back up again without the assistance of rope and about 3 strong guys pulling on it! So I volunteered to slide down the embankment to check on the lone occupant of the truck which I did because I was wearing jeans and sneakers and had a pair of work gloves in my car.
Then I scaled back up the embankment as fast as I slid down it because I'm accustomed to that kind of physical activity anyway and I never even got the knees of my jeans dirty!
The driver of the truck was definitely drunk, in fact he had an open bottle of CC sitting beside him which he was sipping on while waiting for help to arrive. He was sitting on the inverted interior roof of his truck with his cellphone in his hand talking to his buddy with the bottle in the other hand. He was totally shittefaced.
YES! I called! When the cops showed up 3 minutes later, I was standing on the edge of the road looking down the embankment at the inverted pickup truck at the bottom.
The cop was reluctant to scale the side of the embankment himself because we both knew he'd never make it back up again without the assistance of rope and about 3 strong guys pulling on it! So I volunteered to slide down the embankment to check on the lone occupant of the truck which I did because I was wearing jeans and sneakers and had a pair of work gloves in my car.
Then I scaled back up the embankment as fast as I slid down it because I'm accustomed to that kind of physical activity anyway and I never even got the knees of my jeans dirty!
The driver of the truck was definitely drunk, in fact he had an open bottle of CC sitting beside him which he was sipping on while waiting for help to arrive. He was sitting on the inverted interior roof of his truck with his cellphone in his hand talking to his buddy with the bottle in the other hand. He was totally shittefaced.
beermeplease · M
@swirlie probably just a 3 month suspension of his driver's license....well here in bc it would be.
swirlie · 31-35
@beermeplease
On a first offense in Ontario, it's a 3 month suspension, a $1000 fine, an ignition interlock on his vehicle which can detect the smell of alcohol and prevent the vehicle from starting, mandatory attendance for an alcohol addiction program, a permanent record in the Criminal Justice System, car insurance premiums which will triple overnight and potentially may cancel all insurance options at the Insurance Underwriter's discretion.
On a first offense in Ontario, it's a 3 month suspension, a $1000 fine, an ignition interlock on his vehicle which can detect the smell of alcohol and prevent the vehicle from starting, mandatory attendance for an alcohol addiction program, a permanent record in the Criminal Justice System, car insurance premiums which will triple overnight and potentially may cancel all insurance options at the Insurance Underwriter's discretion.
beermeplease · M
@swirlie kinda the same here but i don't think one gets a criminal record. but the vehicle automatically gets impounded and it costs big bucks to get it out. convicted drunk drivers here are permitted to enter the united states whereas convicted drunk drivers from america cannot enter canada
swirlie · 31-35
@beermeplease
Impaired driving anywhere in Canada is a Federal Offense which is why all impaired driving charges anywhere in Canada come with a Criminal record, in addition to the drivers license being suspended at the Provincial level.
So in a nutshell, the Province is responsible for the license suspension and the Federal government is responsible for laying the Criminal charges at the Federal level.
You mentioned the USA.
Impaired driving Criminal charges in Canada are the equivalent of a Felony charge conviction in the USA. This means Canada's terminology for a Felony is a Criminal conviction. It's called a Felony for the US system and Criminal for Canadian system.
Impaired driving in Canada however, carries a Criminal Charge and carries the same weight as a Felony conviction south of the border.
In the USA however, impaired driving charges are only classified as a 'misdemeanor' charge which is only laid at the State level, not the Federal level and which can only carry a maximum prison sentence of 1 year.
Because impaired driving in Canada is classified as a Felony using American terminology, the Canadian government treats ALL impaired driving offenses committed south of the border by Americans as a Felony (which is a Criminal Charge in Canada).
Any American who has the equivalent of a Felony conviction on their record is not allowed to enter Canada on even a day-pass, let alone an extended stay. This is why Americans who have had impaired driving 'misdemeanor' convictions from even 25 years ago while on Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale when they were 18 years old are still treated as Felons if they attempt to cross the Canada/US border into Canada.
Impaired driving anywhere in Canada is a Federal Offense which is why all impaired driving charges anywhere in Canada come with a Criminal record, in addition to the drivers license being suspended at the Provincial level.
So in a nutshell, the Province is responsible for the license suspension and the Federal government is responsible for laying the Criminal charges at the Federal level.
You mentioned the USA.
Impaired driving Criminal charges in Canada are the equivalent of a Felony charge conviction in the USA. This means Canada's terminology for a Felony is a Criminal conviction. It's called a Felony for the US system and Criminal for Canadian system.
Impaired driving in Canada however, carries a Criminal Charge and carries the same weight as a Felony conviction south of the border.
In the USA however, impaired driving charges are only classified as a 'misdemeanor' charge which is only laid at the State level, not the Federal level and which can only carry a maximum prison sentence of 1 year.
Because impaired driving in Canada is classified as a Felony using American terminology, the Canadian government treats ALL impaired driving offenses committed south of the border by Americans as a Felony (which is a Criminal Charge in Canada).
Any American who has the equivalent of a Felony conviction on their record is not allowed to enter Canada on even a day-pass, let alone an extended stay. This is why Americans who have had impaired driving 'misdemeanor' convictions from even 25 years ago while on Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale when they were 18 years old are still treated as Felons if they attempt to cross the Canada/US border into Canada.
beermeplease · M
@swirlie yup...when we crossed the border one time the us customs guys asked us if we had any criminal records...2 of us answered no while my friend said he has a dui charge from the 80s. he was permitted to enter the us. had he said no then he probably would have been turned back as the customs agent already knew that
swirlie · 31-35
@beermeplease
The thing is, a DUI charge that was laid in Canada under the Criminal Code in Canada, would only be treated as a 'misdemeanor' charge anywhere in the USA, which means your friend with the DUI charge in Canada would have been permitted entry to the USA regardless. This is because drunk driving in the USA is considered as basically an irrelevant event.
The State Police in Alaska warn Canadians who enter the USA into Alaska to assume that everyone on the road in Alaska is drunk while behind the wheel, because they always are when they get stopped by US State Troopers.
The thing is, a DUI charge that was laid in Canada under the Criminal Code in Canada, would only be treated as a 'misdemeanor' charge anywhere in the USA, which means your friend with the DUI charge in Canada would have been permitted entry to the USA regardless. This is because drunk driving in the USA is considered as basically an irrelevant event.
The State Police in Alaska warn Canadians who enter the USA into Alaska to assume that everyone on the road in Alaska is drunk while behind the wheel, because they always are when they get stopped by US State Troopers.