[Maritime Q-Scout]

I've read/skimmed most of this thread tonight.

Here's my biggest issue.

I'm at a party with friends over the holidays. Tonight is my turn to be the DD. I round up my friends, get them in my car and start to drive them all home. I turn the corner and low and behold what do I see? A roadblock. No big deal, I roll my window down and the police officer smells alcohol (natually I have have four drunks in my car). The officer asks me to pull over and get out of the car. I do.

I'm administered the breathalyzer to ensure I am telling the truth, I'm the sober DD. However, the breathalyser wasn't properly calibrated recently, and after several other people using it, it's results are off. To the point that I blow 0.05 BAC due to the machine not working properly.

I lose my car, it's impounded, my licence is suspended. I have to pay for my licence to be reinstated ($200) plus the impound fee.

I don't have any recourse. None what so ever. I was sober, and it was the Breathalyzer that was broken.

IF I had my day in court, then the records would show it wasn't properly calibrated, as well as how often it was used since it's last calibration. Additionally I could call a household full of witnesses that would state I wasn't drinking.

In this scenario I'm being punished for a law I didn't break, labelled a drunk driver when I wasn't driving while impaired, and victimized by malfunctioning equipment without being able to face my accuser in a court of law or question the accuracy of the equipment used.

IF I blew 0.08+ then I'd have all that recourse.

To me that's the biggest problem here.

If you want to lower the BAC to 0.05 by all means go ahead. However if you're going to seize my car, and revoke my licence for doing nothing wrong without allowing me any recourse to say "hold on a second here folks, I'm innocent" that's a problem.


Frankly if you wanted this law to stick, suspension should be after the accused is found guilty in a court of law, or pleads as such. If the court wants to impound the car as part of the punishment, so be it.

Guilt first, punishment second. Not punishment first and not give a flying fata about guilt.