Impaired Driving by https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web Canadian Law Final Assignment en-us 2019-04-10 12:42:05 UTC 2019-04-10 22:08:52 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Balance.png Overview iain_weber https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350532775 Impaired driving is the criminal act of operating a motor under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Substance impairment is not limited to illegal substances; furthermore, being under the influence of legally prescribed substances is also considered to be an offense. Impaired driving also includes “distracted driving”. Distracted driving is when an individual is distracted by something such as their phone or their GPS, potentially leading to an accident. Impaired driving directly relates to the criminal code by being an offense heavily rooted in criminal negligence. The act of impaired driving puts countless individuals at risk when the individual is severely impaired. Sections of the criminal code that relate to impaired driving include 219 to 221 (criminal negligence, including death and bodily harm by), and 320.11 to 320.4 (multiple laws surrounding blood alcohol levels, levels of consciousness/awareness when operating a motor vehicle, when police are allowed to ask for a breathalyzer test, punishments if caught driving while impaired).

]]> 2019-04-10 19:34:32 UTC https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350532775 Case Study - R. v. Brogan iain_weber https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350534294 Patrick Brogan is being charged with impaired driving and negligence when his car collided into six-year-old Joshua Penny, who was playing with his friends on their bikes. The Crown was seeking to determine whether the accused should be charged with impairment, as impairment doesn’t necessarily mean that there was criminal negligence involved. This is displayed in the case when in s. 17 it is mentioned that Mr. Brogan attempts to give Joshua CPR after colliding with him. The case resulted in Mr. Brogan being acquitted of all charges. The Crown found that, while he was certainly impaired at the time of the incident, he was not guilty of causing the accident that killed Joshua. This was primarily due to Mr. Brogan’s use of insulin which was believed to have amplified the effects of the alcohol consumed by Mr. Brogan. He was then considered to not be criminally negligent as he was not fully aware of the effects that insulin could have with alcohol, as well as the fact that the insulin was both taken before reaching the legal blood alcohol limit of .08 and was taken during an allergy attack.

References

R. v. Brogan, 2008 NSPC 42 (CanLII), <http://canlii.ca/t/1zrps>, retrieved on 2019-04-10

]]> 2019-04-10 19:38:55 UTC https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350534294 Pickering man falls asleep at the wheel, charged with impaired driving iain_weber https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350535419 A man from Pickering was charged with impaired driving when police officers found the man in his car in a ditch while fast asleep. The man was charged with impaired driving. Over-exhaustion is another issue that can lead to sleeping behind the wheel.]]> 2019-04-10 19:42:02 UTC https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350535419 Man crashes into power line, knocking out power for thousands iain_weber https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350537705 A man in Ajax crashed his car into a power line and took out the power going to thousands of homes as a result. Police laid impaired driving charges against the man following the incident.]]> 2019-04-10 19:46:54 UTC https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350537705 PEI impaired driving convictions at lowest point in 50+ years iain_weber https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350538957 Interestingly, the number of drivers in PEI has grown over the years. This fact would almost imply that impaired driving charges would likely increase with the population increase. This is not the case due to "raised awareness" on the roads, as well as new laws being put in place to help combat impaired driving.]]> 2019-04-10 19:50:52 UTC https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350538957 Stricter impaired driving laws now in effect for Canada, How police screen for impaired drivers iain_weber https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350543566 The video displays how police are now trained to both look for what is now considered to be impaired driving. The new laws have also included movements like changing the radio station or taking a drink to be considered impaired driving as well.]]> 2019-04-10 20:07:25 UTC https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350543566 Reflection iain_weber https://padlet.com/iain_weber/cdnlaw_padlet_web/wish/350569848 Impaired driving is a topic I have always felt strongly about as it has affected my family in the past on more than one occasion. It is a topic I feel great frustration around when I am discussing because I do not feel that there are strong enough punishments to help combat substance induced impaired driving. I would consider this to be a “surprise” but unfortunately it is not; rather, it is, again, highly frustrating for me to read and think about. Punishments that are not so strict are also what I will continue to remember. I appreciate that the new laws in Canada are attempting to make a greater change in the amount of impaired driving seen on the roads; however, I also feel that they don’t punish “true” offenders enough whilst hurting the reputations of good drivers that make honest mistakes. I do not feel that changing the radio station should be considered “impaired driving”, I feel that more attention needs to be paid to those who abuse substances and hop on the road.

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