Starting on Sunday, drivers caught driving under the influence will face tougher penalties.
That means a $180 dollar ticket, and an immediate three day licence suspension. If police catch you twice, it’s a seven day suspension. Three times? Now you’re looking at a 30 day suspension. The North Bay Police Service has two drug recognition experts, as part of their regular platoons. They have been specially trained to recognize people who are impaired by drugs.
Police Communications Coordinator, Marie Lugli, says a drug recognition expert will be called into the station if an officer on patrol stops someone suspecting they are impaired. The person will be arrested and brought into headquarters. From there, they would take a series of tests to determine whether or not they are impaired.
383 criminal charges under Canada’s Criminal Code for impaired driving by drug were handed out in Ontario in 2015. The North Bay Police handed out 4 charges in 2015 in relation to drug impaired driving. The Ministry of Transportation announced these new penalties earlier this week.
