Can the police take away my licence before I go to court?
Yes, Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act gives the police the power to take your licence and destroy it once you have been charged with specific crimes.
What are those specific crimes?
They are from the Criminal Code - driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs; driving with more than eighty milligrams of alcohol in one hundred millilitres of your blood; failing or refusing to provide a sample (of breath or blood). The police do not need to wait for you to go to court.
Losing my licence before going to court – what is that called?
It is called an “administrative licence suspension” – police, lawyers and judges often use that term.
I have an administrative licence suspension - how long do I go without a licence?
An administrative license suspension is a minumum of three months.
Can my administrative licence suspension last longer than three months?
Yes, it can be longer.
What can make my administrative licence suspension last longer than three months?
The facts around your charge can lengthen your licence suspension. For example, were you also involved in an accident causing bodily harm or death? If so, your licence is automatically suspended for at least three more months. Previous convictions can also lengthen your suspension – specifically, any convictions for impaired driving, for driving over 0.8 or for refusing or failing to provide a sample. A lawyer can advise you on legal length of your suspension.
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