You do not have to be caught driving to be charged with Over 80 or Impaired. It's enough if you're in "care or control." You are presumed to be in care or control if police find you sitting in the driver's seat.
However, you may rebut the presumption if your intention on entering the driver's seat was not to drive (e.g., to sleep). If you rebut the presumption, you might still be found guilty if the Crown can show that you performed some act or acts involving the vehicle or its fittings, or conduct associated with the vehicle, that involve the risk of putting it in motion or some other danger to persons or property arising from the vehicle.
The law recognizes two instances of care and control:
There is a common misconception by many motorists that if they “do the right thing” and try to “sleep it off” either in the parking lot or at the roadside that they are immune from prosecution. Unfortunately, this is not the case because it is also considered a crime to be “in care and control” of a vehicle either when impaired or over 80.
1. Presumed care and Control:
Section 258(1)(a) of the Criminal Code states:
(1) In any proceedings under s.255(1) in respect of an offence committed under section 253 or in any proceedings under subsection 255(2) or (3),
(a) where it is proved that the accused occupied the seat or position ordinarily occupied by a person who operates a motor vehicle, vessel or aircraft or any railway equipment or who assists in the operation of an aircraft or of railway equipment, the accused shall be deemed to have had the care or control of the vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment, as the case may be, unless the accused establishes that the accused did not occupy that seat or position for the purpose of setting the vehicle, vessel aircraft or railway equipment in motion or assisting in the operation of the aircraft or railway equipment, as the case may be;
Section 258(1)(a) allows the Crown to prove that the accused was in "care or control" of a motor vehicle by adducing evidence that the accused occupied the seat ordinarily occupied by the driver of the vehicle. Unless the accused can rebut the presumption by establishing that he or she did not occupy the seat for the purpose of setting the vehicle in motion, he or she will be found to have had care or control of the vehicle.
Generally, in order to rebut this presumption the accused will need to establish that he did not enter the vehicle for the purpose of setting it in motion. Normally, he’ll have to testify to do so and lead evidence of an alternate intention such as waiting for a friend to pick him up or using the vehicle for warmth until some alternate means of transport is available such as a bus or taxi.
2. De Facto Care and Control:
Even though an accused may be able to rebut the presumption of care and control he must also show that there was no possibility that he could otherwise have accidentally or unintentionally set the vehicle in motion. This generally arises in circumstances where the accused is found asleep in the vehicle and it is either turned on or running, perhaps for warmth on a cold winter evening. What must be established by the defence in such a case is that the accused had either made alternate travel plans and/or that there was a specific series of acts required to engage the transmission that couldn’t have occurred accidentally, such as simultaneously depressing the brake and then putting the car into gear. Alternately, in the event of an accident in a remote locale where the accused’s car is inoperable he may argue that despite any evidence that he intended to drive there simply wasn’t any danger that could occur. drunk driving alcohol politics, political, donald trump, ww3, martial arts, mma, mixed martial arts, connor mcgregor, video, videos, camera, caught on camera, cctv, crazy, funny, funniest, impaired driving, karate, kung fu, immigration, europe, america, canada, compilation, compilations, best, worst, ufc, fight, fights, fighting, fighter, fighters, boxer, boxers, boxing, training, exercise, david duke, zionist, zionists, zionism, israel, jew, jewish, jews, muslim, muslims, islam, islamic, isis, ken shamrock
