Quote:
Why was the offence of driving over the legal limit (the "over 80" offence) broadened so as to capture drivers who were at or over 80 "within two hours of driving"?
The offence of "operating at or over 80 within two hours of driving" eliminates the bolus drinking defense by changing the time frame within which the offence can be committed. It is no longer relevant that the person's blood alcohol concentration may have been below 80 mg at the time of driving.
What is the bolus drinking defence and why was it eliminated?
"Bolus drinking" refers to situations where a driver claims that, although they consumed alcohol just before or during driving, they were not over the legal limit while driving because the alcohol was not fully absorbed until the time of testing. This defence rewards the risky behaviour of drinking immediately before or during driving in the hopes of arriving at a destination before being too drunk to drive or being at the offence level.
The new law changed the timeframe of the offence (i.e., to being at or over the offence level within two hours of driving). Therefore, the argument that alcohol was still being absorbed has become irrelevant
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https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/...46-qr_c46.html
So...if you drank enough to be legally impaired but it didn't actually make you impaired yet....you shall still be deemed as impaired....even though you are not.
I mean...just a mind boggling stupid piece of legislation.