Dangerous Driving

The first time you have been convicted of a Criminal Code offence, such as Dangerous Driving, you will receive a one year suspension of your driver's licence. A second or third conviction will result in a 3-year or permanent suspension of your licence, respectively.

Losing driving privileges will severely impact many aspects of anyone's life, such as commuting to work or school, shopping, going on vacation, and driving children to and from necessary activities. You could be faced with being in the awkward and highly inconvenient position of having to ask for rides from coworkers, relatives and neighbours every day. Of course, the impact on individuals who need a vehicle in order to perform their job is enormous; in such cases, your livelihood will be devastatingly impacted by the loss of your driving privileges.

If you injure another individual, whether that person be a passenger in your car, the occupant of another car, a pedestrian or a bicyclist, you could face fines and imprisonment. The outcome of your driving, such as a fatality or severe injuries to another person, is not proof in and of itself of dangerous driving. The charge of dangerous driving must stand on its own, independent of the consequences. However, the prosecution does not have to prove that you intentionally drove dangerously. Your driving will be judged using the standards of what a reasonable person would be expected to do under similar circumstances and this determination will be made by a judge on a case by case basis.

A term that is used to describe Dangerous Driving is "marked departure". In order to be considered Dangerous Driving, one has to have behaved in a manner that is significantly different than the norm. To qualify for marked departure one must have behaved in such a way as to violate what a reasonable person would have being expected to do under similar circumstances. A momentary loss of judgment does not qualify as a "marked departure".

Operating a motor vehicle in excess of the posted speed limit (i.e. speeding) may result in a charge of Dangerous Driving regardless of whether or not someone is injured. In addition, failure to reduce one's speed to take into consideration hazardous road conditions caused by rain or snow, or even darkness can be considered to amount to dangerous driving. Speeding and failing to take road conditions into consideration present a "marked departure" from what is considered reasonably prudent driving.

If you have consumed alcohol or have taken drugs prior to driving and test positive, you can be charged with Dangerous Driving, as well as Impaired Driving. If, however, you have unintentionally taken too much of a prescription medication, you may have a defense against Dangerous Driving charges.

If you suffered a seizure, convulsions, a heart attack or another medical emergency while driving, you have a valid defense against the charge of dangerous driving. This is particularly true if you have a medical history of suffering from such maladies.