Quote:
Originally Posted by Soundy Is it really? Or is it the same tune as before, and they've just done a better job of clarifying things? |
Well, the song is the same....the laws are what they always have been.
But, NOW the OSMV is stating "clearly" that the officer MUST begin with a roadside test (section 90.3) when investigation a suspected drinking and driving novice. Giving a 24 hour notice to a novice driver based on observation alone has been an incorrect procedure in this situation....a procedure that all the powers that be have "allowed" to happen in the past.
I talked to a friend of mine, who is now retired from the RCMP and worked here in Shawnigan Lake. He kind of laughed about this thing and then related a story to me which explains why "proof" by roadside test for a novice is so important.
" His son came home one night....and my friend said he smelled like a brewery. As his son was under aged at the time...he wanted to prove a point...went out to his police car and got the ASD. His son blew.... a 0.0....with great disbelief by my friend."
My friend, a seasoned officer, assumed that his son was drinking because of the odors coming from his son. But the smells were from hanging around people that WERE drinking that night. In this case, a seasoned officer's "observation" was incorrect.......and, by demanding a roadside test from a novice driver "on the road", this kind of situation would not happen. Very important...as you well know the consequences for a novice driver if receiving a 24 hour prohibition.
You see where I'm getting at?