court ru arinicin LOCAL LAW enforcement agencies predict a Nov. 18 B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that police stop asking motorists to take roadside sobriety tests without first advising them of their right to legal counsel under the Charter of Rights could in- crease the dismissal rate of impaired charges in local courts. By MICHAEL BECKER News Reporter “It’s an issue that has arisen in all of the regional courts,’’ said West Vancouver Crown counsel John Gordon. The decision is being appealed by the Crown in the B.C. Court of Appeal. In the ruling, Mr. Justice William Craig ruled an Okanagan man was incorrectly detained by RCMP officers who had pulled him over for physical testing on the suspicion of a Criminal Code offence after they noted the vehicle he was driving weaving in traffic. Justice Craig, alonz with two other appeal judges, said the man was not legally required to undergo physical testing such as walking a straight line and therefore should have been advised of his right to legal counsel under the Charter prior to testing. : He noted the police officers knew that if the suspect failed the physical tests they would then be justified in requesting a breath Ng 3 - Sunday, December 27, 1987 - North Shore News NEWS photo Tom Burley NORTH VANCOUVER RCMP and West Vancouver Police have a special seasonal gift for drinking drivers on the North Shore — CounterAttack roadblocks to Jan. 3. RCMP officer Todd Fookes checks drivers for infractions. sample which would be preceded by a reading of his rights under the Charter. The precedent is now being ap- plied to drinking and driving charges backlogged in courts be- fore the ruling came down. Accor- ding to North Vancouver RCMP Cpl. Ewen Freethy, the delay be- tween arrest and a trial date on a the schools to talk about drinking and driving. Weather: Sunday through Tuesday, showers. Highs near 6°C. plea of not guilty can be as much asa year. “We're at the stage with the Charter where we're creating law right now,” said West Vancouver Police Cst. Dave Bingham. ‘'The precedents are being set in higher courts and then are being applied to existing cases. Our arrest numbers are still up, but the con- Paar : NEWS photo Mike Wakefield HILLSIDE STUDENTS Nancy Ford and Mandy Morden team up with West Vancouver Police Cst. Dave Bingham to unveil a new anti-drinking and driving bumper sticker. Students at schools across the North Shore were active in this year’s CounterAttack awareness campaign, organizing a roster of guest speakers who visited INDEX Business ..... Classified Ads.... Doug Collins Comics... Editorial Page Fashion. Bob Hunter Lifestyles....... Mailbox....... victions are down.”* During the first 11 months of this year, West Vancouver Police arrested 3!0 impaired drivers. For the same period last year, 237 im- paired drivers were arrested. Roadside licence suspensions were up this year as well, with 466 issued versus 350 for last year. But said regional Crown counsel Bob Wright: *‘About every second Friday, something happens where it seems that the whole criminal justice system will grind to a halt. There’s always a short-term im- pact, but in the long term, it’s just another hurdle.” Wright said the Crown’s overall conviction rate for all types of charges averages 88 per cent. Drinking and driving penalties remain stiff WITH THE local CounterAttack police roadblock cam- paign in full swing to Jan. 3, it’s a good a time to know the possible penalties for drinking and driving. Criminal Code provisions for conviction on drinking and driving related offences are stiff. A first offence for impaired (over .08) or refusal to provide a breath or blood sample is worth a fine of not less than $300. A se- cond offence carries a penalty of not less than 14 days in jail. For each subsequent offence the penal- ty is not less than 90 days jail. Drinking and driving convictions lead to a minimum six month licence suspension, which may be increased by the superintendent of motor vehicles if decided so by the courts. The maximum penalty for a summary first offence could be a $2,000 fine, six raonths in jail and a three-year licence suspension. In 1985, Criminal Code amendments increased to a max- imum of 14 years jail the penalty for dangerous driving causing death and impaired drving causing death. While B.C. has some of the toughest drinking driving laws in North America, they’re loose compared with the penalties faced by impaired drivers in other parts of the world: *South Africa — A drunk driver can get a 10-year prison term, a fine of $10,000 or both. ¢ Turkey - Drunk drivers are taken 20 miles out of town by police and are forced to walk back under escort. * Malaya - The drunk driver is jailed. If he’s married, his wife goes to jail too. ‘Finland and Sweden - Automatic jail sentence for one year at hard labor. © USSR -_ Driver’s revoked for life. licence is © Bulgaria - The second drinking offence is the last. Repeat offend- ers are executed. The best deterrents against drinking driving in the long run are people who plan not to drive after drinking or who refuse to ride with a drinking driver. Others who help are those who won’t let a friend drive while impaired and still others who call the police if they see someone they suspect is drunk behind the wheel. BC Transit recently launched an ambitious Don't take the keys campaign to get more people home alive and safe this festive season. In conjunction with the 10th anniversary of CounterAttack, the campaign involving hundreds of companies and licensed premises and supports the concept of the “‘designated driver’’ alternative. BC Transit has contacted top management at approximately 800 companies to get involved and provide their employees with tran- sit tickets for a safe journey home. More than 1,200 restaurants, lounges and hotels in the Van- couver regional transit system have the opportunity to be involved in the project by purchasing the specially designed transit gift packs for customers, clients and employees. The specially designed and packaged ‘‘Lifesaver’’ gift pack contains two adult transit tickets in a festive envelope. It carries a “Compliments of ....’’ card which can be imprinted with the company logo. The tickets are good for one-way travel on SkyTrain, SeaBus and bus, including the West Van blue buses.