Did you know that in Canada, our DUI laws can result in being arrested and found guilty for operating a motorized scooter while drunk?
How could this be you ask? Well, the definition of a motor vehicle is any vehicle that is drawn, propelled or driven by any means other than muscular power.
The case is R. v. Shanahan in the Ontario Court of Justice, 2007. In that case, a man who was injured and had difficulty walking, borrowed his mother’s motorized personal device for a night of drinking. Police testified they saw him weaving while crossing the road in the wheelchair and therefore arrested him.
One piece of important information in this case is the defendant could move about on his own some – approximately one hundred to one hundred and fifty meters.
The Ontario Court hearing the case found that a motorized personal device, such as a personal device is a motor vehicle under the Criminal Code. However, the defendant then made an application under section 15 of the Charger arguing his equality rights were breached.
The section 15 Charter breach hearing (equality rights) dealt with these two issues.
1. Were the accused’s section 15 equality rights breached?
J.D. Wake J. held that the Canada DUI laws (section 253 of the Criminal Code) does not make a distinction between people reliant on motorized wheelchairs and people who don’t need motorized scooters.
Next, the comparison group used by the accused was able-bodied persons who consumed too much alcohol. This comparison for equality breach did not persuade the Court because the accused was mobile without a motorized wheelchair.
Moreover, able-bodied people who walk in public while drunk can be arrested and convicted for mischief – therefore lessening any distinction even more.
2. Does the result offend the accused’s dignity under section 15 of the Charter?
The dignity issue was addressed as follows:
“The argument in favour of striking down s.253 seems to be that the dignity of a disabled person can only be sustained if he is afforded the right to behave with a lack of dignity. In my view s.15 of the Charter should not be used to support the result of such inverted reasoning.”
When all is said and one, a person operating a motorized scooter cannot be impaired.
Consider these aspects:
This specific case involved someone not totally disabled. Therefore, the outcome could be different if a person was 100 percent disabled.
What about people using a motorized scooter on pain prescription medication?
Can a person be impaired simply sitting in a stationary motorized personal device? The DUI laws in Canada hold that a person in the driver’s seat of a car or truck while impaired can be found guilty of our DUI laws. I haven’t read a case addressing this issue, but it seems possible being stationary in a restaurant, for instance, while impaired in a motorized wheelchair Canada’s DUI laws.
If you’ve been charged with a crime such as DUI in BC, visit Vancouver defence lawyer website to learn more about Canada DUI laws and how Dykstra & Company can help you.
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