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Impaired driving is the term used in Canada to describe the criminal offence of operating or having care or control of a motor vehicle while the person's ability to operate the motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol or a drug. Impaired driving is punishable under multiple offences in the ''Criminal Code'', with greater penalties depending on the harm caused by the impaired driving. it can also result in various types of driver's license suspensions. There is a related, parallel offence of driving with a blood alcohol lever which exceeds eighty milligrams of alcohol in one hundred millilitres of blood (.08). The penalties are identical for impaired driving and driving with a BAC greater than .08. The Criminal Code gives the police a number of powers to assist in the enforcement of the offences, and there are a number of presumptions that assist in the prosecution of the offences. ==History== One of the first reported criminal cases regarding drinking and driving in Canada was an Alberta decision in 1920 called ''R. v. Nickle''. In that case, the appeal court found that the act of driving while intoxicated was an unlawful act that could support a manslaughter conviction.〔''Rex v. Nickle'' (1920), 34 C.C.C 15 (S.C. Alta. App. Div.)〕 In 1921, the Parliament of Canada first created a summary conviction offence for drinking and driving, called "driving while intoxicated". At the time, the courts interpreted intoxication to mean substantial inebriation, and more than just being under the influence of alcohol. The minimum penalty for the first offence was seven days in jail. The minimum penalty for the second offence was one month in jail. The minimum penalty for a third offence was three months in jail. In 1925, Parliament amended the ''Criminal Code'' to include a new offence of driving while intoxicated by a narcotic. The offences were also amended to include "care or control" of a motor vehicle, not just driving. (See below.)〔''Impaired Driving in Canada'', p 1.〕 In 1930, Parliament changed the offence to a hybrid offence, giving the Crown the option to proceed with the more serious indictable offence procedure.〔''Impaired Driving in Canada'', p 2.〕 Difficulties arose regarding how to prove someone was in care or control of a motor vehicle, and what the test should be. In 1947, Parliament amended the ''Criminal Code'' again, adding a presumption of care or control when a person was found sitting in the driver's seat of a motor vehicle.〔 This did not answer all of the problems regarding the test (i.e. when a person is not found in the driver's seat of a motor vehicle). Many of the court's answers to those questions remain in conflict today.〔 In 1951, Parliament re-worded the law, making it an offence to operate or have care or control of a motor vehicle while the driver's ability to operate the motor vehicle was ''impaired'' by alcohol or other drugs.〔 The breathalyzer was made into a practical police tool by Robert Borkenstein in 1952, which allowed for the police to measure a person's blood alcohol concentration. The first Canadian test of the breathalyzer was in Ontario in 1954. By 1962, police were using the breathalyzer for "mass testing". However, the test was voluntary, and could only be used as confirmatory evidence. 〔 In 1969 (fifteen years after the introduction of the breathalyzer into Canada), Parliament created an offence of driving while "over 80" (over 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood). In 1976, Parliament made the penalty the same as driving while impaired, created the offence of refusing to provide a breath sample (with the same penalties), and created laws allowing the police to use roadside screening devices.〔 Both offences are now set out in the same section of the Criminal Code, section 253.〔(''Criminal Code'', RSC 1985, c C-46, s 253(1)(a) and (b). )〕 After 1976, there were additional changes to the minimum penalties, and the introduction of new offences (impaired driving causing bodily harm and impaired driving causing death). By 2008, drinking and driving cases made up 12 per cent of all criminal charges, making it the largest single offence group. In 2008, it was estimated that 53,000 drinking and driving cases are heard every year in Canada. The conviction rate was 73 per cent, which exceeded the rate for all criminal convictions by 13 per cent. Notwithstanding the higher rate of conviction, drinking and driving cases are more likely to go to trial than any other criminal offence, and are often fought on both technical issues and alleged police violations of section 8, section 9, and section 10(b) of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms''.〔''Impaired Driving in Canada'', pp. 2–3〕 2008 also saw the most recent amendments by Parliament to the law on drinking and driving. The ''Tackling Violent Crime Act'' came into force on July 2, 2008. The changes included adding new evidentiary restrictions on defendants trying to raise "evidence to the contrary" regarding the presumption of a person's blood alcohol concentration, created mandatory standard field sobriety tests that can be requested by a police officer, created additional means to allow police officers to test for the possible presence of drugs in a driver's body, increased the minimum sentences to their current level ($1000 fine for the first offence, 30 days in jail for the second offence, and 120 days in jail for the third offence), and created new offences for "over 80" causing death or bodily harm and refusing to provide a sample where operation caused death or bodily harm.〔''Impaired Driving in Canada'', pp. 35–36〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Impaired driving in Canada」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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