Driving Law

Filkow Law is a leading driving law firm well-known for its exceptional results on all aspects of driving law and frequently consulted by legal professionals for advice. A driving prohibition can have devastating effects on one’s employment and family and can also have serious criminal, financial and insurance consequences.

The lawyers at Filkow Law have over 50 years of driving law experience and are highly regarded for their knowledge, expertise and excellent representation.

Driving is one of the most highly regulated areas of the law. Driving offences range from having a traffic ticket to an immediate roadside prohibition to dangerous and impaired driving to serious car accidents and pedestrian fatality cases. Driving prohibition can have devastating effects on one’s employment and family and can also have criminal and insurance consequences.

The lawyers at Filkow Law have successfully dealt with thousands of driving prohibition cases. If you are facing a driving prohibition, immediate roadside prohibition or a charge of driving while prohibited, call Filkow Law today.

For more information on our highlighted practice areas, click on any of the links below.

Driving While Prohibited

Criminal Code
Motor Vehicle Act

Licence Prohibitions

Notice of Prohibition
Notice of Intent to Prohibit
Driver Improvement Program

ICBC Breaches & Accidents

Drugs and alcohol
False statements
Fail to cooperate
ICBC Debt

Immediate Roadside Prohibitions

Fail
Refusal
Warning

Why did I get a driving prohibition from RoadSafetyBC?

RoadSafetyBC may prohibit you for a number of reasons, including the following:

you have an “unsatisfactory” driving record;
a police officer forwarded a “high-risk driving incident report” to RoadSafetyBC;
RoadSafetyBC determines you are medically “unable” or “unfit” to drive; and
for any other reason RoadSafetyBC considers to be in the public interest.

The most common reason for a prohibition is having an “unsatisfactory” driving record, which usually results from having too many points or high-risk offences.

What is the difference between a fully-licensed driver (Class 5) and a new driver (Class 7)?

Class 7 drivers are subject to certain restrictions. For example, new drivers cannot use electronic devices, have any alcohol or drugs in their body while driving, or have too many passengers. Learners cannot drive at all unless they have a properly qualified supervisor.

RoadSafetyBC treats Class 7 drivers who incur driving violations much more severely than experienced drivers.

What if I have an international driver’s licence?

RoadSafetyBC treats international drivers as new drivers. Because of this fact, a driver with an international licence will scrutinized more closely than a driver with a full BC driver’s licence. Even one ticket may result in a driving prohibition.

I have my full licence (Class 5). How many points am I allowed before I will be prohibited?

Fully-licensed (class 5) drivers who incur 15 or more points in a two-year period will likely be prohibited.

Fully-licensed drivers who are found guilty of two or more high-risk driving offences in a 12-month period, will likely be prohibited from driving – even if they have fewer than 15 points.

I am a new driver (Class 7). How many points am I allowed before I will be prohibited?

New drivers (class 7) who incur more than three points or even one high risk driving offence will likely be prohibited from driving.

What is considered a high-risk driving offence?

RoadSafetyBC designates the following offences as “high-risk”:

using an electronic device while driving;
excessive speeding;
driving without due care and attention; and
driving without consideration.

Because these offences are designated high-risk, it is particularly important to get advice from an experienced lawyer about the consequences.

I have a letter referring me to the Driver Improvement Program. What does that mean?

The Driver Improvement Program is RoadSafetyBC’s process of reviewing driving records and issuing, warning notices, probation notices and driving prohibitions. You can find more information on the program here. Learn more about driving prohibitions here.

I received a Notice of Intent to Prohibit. What does this mean?

A Notice of Intent to Prohibit advises you of RoadSafetyBC’s intention to prohibit you from driving for a period of time. The amount of time is specified in the letter. Learn more about how you could receive a driving prohibition here.

I have received a Notice of Intent to Prohibit Letter. What can I do?

The Notice of Intent letter gives you 21 days to submit a review of the intended prohibition. If a letter is submitted during this period, the decision to prohibit will be suspended until a final decision is made. We strongly recommend speaking to a lawyer to discuss your options.

If RoadSafetyBC already intends to prohibit me from driving. Why should I submit a request to review my prohibition within 21 days?

RoadSafetyBC may consider your hardship and may shorten or reduce your prohibition. Without a letter, all RoadSafetyBC sees is your driving record. Further, if you provide your submissions within the 21-day timeline, your prohibition will be put on hold until a decision is made. This may give you some more time to prepare for the prohibition.

I received a Notice of Prohibition. What does this mean?

A Notice of Prohibition advises you of RoadSafetyBC’s decision to prohibit you from driving for a period of time. The amount of time is specified in the letter.

How is a Notice of Prohibition different from a Notice of Intent to Prohibit?

A Notice of Intent to Prohibit advises you of RoadSafetyBC’s intention to prohibit you and provides you with 21 days to respond. On the other hand, a Notice of Prohibition advises you that RoadSafetyBC has prohibited you from driving, however the prohibition does not commence until you acknowledge the prohibition by signing it and returning it to RoadSafetyBC, or until a police officer serves you with it. In other words, the prohibition begins on the day you sign it and send it in or the day a police officer serves you.

I received a Notice of Prohibition but I am still driving. What will happen?

If you do not acknowledge your Notice of Prohibition, a police officer may serve you with the prohibition. If you are driving at the time the officer serves you, the officer may use their discretion to give you time to drive home before your prohibition commences.

What are the possible outcomes after I send my letter?

RoadSafetyBC will make one of three decisions: they will uphold the prohibition, reduce it in duration, or cancel the prohibition altogether. If you are prohibited by RoadSafetyBC, you are prohibited from driving for all purposes. RoadSafetyBC does not make exceptions that allow you to drive for work or medical reasons. Learn more about driving prohibitions here.

What considerations does RoadSafetyBC make when reviewing my submission?

RoadSafetyBC will look at a number of factors, including the following:

your driving experience;
the type and class of licence(s);
the seriousness of the infraction(s) as they relate to public safety or property damage;
the period of time since the infraction or between infractions;
any previous warnings, probation periods or driving prohibitions;
any previous lenience shown by adjudicators;
penalty points; and
driving improvement shown.

Hardship alone will usually not result in a driving prohibition being cancelled.

This is the first driving ticket I have ever received, and I am a good driver. Should I bother disputing it?

There are a number of reasons to dispute your first ticket. If you are a new driver, you can be prohibited from driving after a single ticket. If you are an experienced driver, you can be prohibited for as few as two tickets. If you pay your ticket, fail to dispute your ticket, miss your hearing, plead guilty, or are convicted of the offence, the violation will go on your record. All entries on a driving record are permanent.

Driving Law

Jun 15, 2018

Bill 17 and the Changes to the Motor Vehicle Act

Cannabis legalization is on the horizon for Canada. There have been many announcements regarding the distribution and possession of marijuana but an additional matter is the impact that this will have on impaired driving. There are pending changes on the federal level but the BC government is proposing to introduce a whole new scheme creating Immediate Roadside Prohibitions for driving while impaired by marijuana and other drugs.

There is much uncertainty about this as there is no established system or method for detecting impairment by marijuana. There are indications that there may be technology in the future that will allow for the presence of marijuana via a saliva test but it is unknown how effective this will be. This leaves police officers with limited options roadside to deal with drivers that they believe are high. Previously, it was common for police officers to issue a 24-hour prohibition for drugs in cases where the officer had reasonable and probable grounds to believe that a drivers ability to operate a vehicle was impaired by drugs. This did not have a review procedure in place.

Often times it involved the administration of the Standard Field Sobriety Test or the Drug Recognition Exam by an officer trained in these techniques. Both tests have their issues in that they often can result in false positives. Even blood tests can make it difficult to determine if someone is impaired by marijuana as there is little scientific information available on how much THC needs to be detected in someone’s blood before they are actually impaired. THC can linger in someone’s blood for days or weeks, long after someone is no longer affected by it. This is especially true for medical marijuana users.

Driving While High: Changes To Impaired Driving Law In BC

The proposed changes create two new driving prohibitions in BC. They will expand upon the 12-hour prohibition for N and L drivers (Class 7 and 7L licenses). Currently, Class 7 drivers cannot have any alcohol in their system while driving. The proposed legislation will expand that to include drugs as well, detected by a “drug screening device”. There is no indication of what these devices will be. This is concerning as 12-hour prohibitions have no review procedure in place.

The recourse to dispute one is via judicial review in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, something that is not accessible to the average person and expensive to retain legal counsel for. 12-hour prohibitions also result in RoadSafetyBC prohibiting a Class 7 driver for a longer period, usually by several months. If a driver refuses to comply with a demand to provide a sample for a “drug screening device” they will also receive a 12-hour prohibition. It is concerning that a lengthy driving prohibition in the length of months will result from a prohibition with no established review procedure.

The more serious offence that is being created is a 90-day immediate roadside prohibition for drugs, similar to the current roadside prohibition available for alcohol. This provides three ways for a police officer to issue you a 90-day prohibition; a blood test showing above a specified level in your blood within 2 hours of driving, or having a combination of a specified level of alcohol and drugs in your blood.

These 90-day reviews will have specified grounds of review. These include consuming the drugs after ceasing operation of the vehicle (and that the driver had no reasonable expectation that they would be required to provide a sample of blood), that the person was not impaired by drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol and the results of the evaluation were due to a medical condition. Much alike the 90-day alcohol immediate roadside prohibitions for alcohol, the demands and testing will mirror the provisions in the Criminal Code.

Given the forthcoming changes to the Criminal Code on impaired driving regarding alcohol and drugs, these are likely going to be contested in court. The taking of blood samples is an intrusive means and not easily accomplished roadside by police officers. Furthermore, current drug impairment testing procedures have many options for false positives and inaccurate results.

Impaired Driving In BC? Call Filkow Law

This will be an interesting development in driving law and will likely result in extensive legal disputes. The tests that are yet to be established will be fundamental to this regime, and its fairness as there is no current effective manner to detect drug impairment. As we are familiar and successful in both criminal impaired driving and the existing IRP scheme, we look forward to assisting our clients with defending charges under this pending regime. If you need assistance with an impaired driving case in BC, call Filkow Law today.

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Jun 05, 2018

Filkow Law Voted Richmonds Best Law Firm for 2018

Filkow Law is pleased to be voted as the Best Richmond Law Firm by readers of the Richmond News for 2018. We also had the pleasure of being voted the Best Richmond Law Firm for 2017, 2016 and 2015. The Richmond location is the longest standing law office location but now Filkow Law has expanded to Vancouver, Surrey and Kelowna.

Filkow Law is well known for its formidable strengths with a highly accessible culture, very skilled advocacy and a signature strategic approach to every case. If English is not your first language, Filkow Law can accommodate you. The languages spoken at the firm are Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Hindi, French, Russian, Bosnian and German.

Filkow Law has a reputation for producing exceptional results for their clients. The firm’s main focus is criminal defence with particular emphasis on driving, drug, fraud and assault cases but they are now taking on personal injury cases. If you have a legal matter you need assistance with please contact us.

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May 25, 2018

We Help Victims of Crime Have Their Voice

Most of us have been victims of crime in our lives. Maybe you have been threatened or stolen from; these types of offences inconvenience you for a short time, but most of the time, you can move past them. But what if it is something more serious?

We hear about things that have happened to a friend of a friend, or we see stories on the news, and we hope that’s never us- the victim of a domestic assault, a robbery, and break and enter, a sexual assault, or worse…

We are a criminal defence law firm. We have extensive experience defending those charged with all these types of crimes. However, we also have a unique expertise in assisting victims of crime. Before joining Filkow Law, I was a Crown Attorney in the north, prosecuting violent offences against children. During my time as a prosecutor, I helped dozens if not hundreds of deeply traumatized and vulnerable victims of crime and witnesses navigate the court process and participate in the criminal justice system. I am proud to have brought that experience to Filkow Law, and to have helped develop this as an area of practice for our firm. We are now considered a leader in acting for complainants and witnesses.

Victims Of Crime In BC: What To Expect

If you have found yourself unfortunately standing in those unenviable shoes, having been victimized by crime, there are some things you can expect as the wheels of justice begin to turn.

The Investigation Stage

First, depending on the type of offence, you may be subjected to numerous and ongoing interviews and exams. The police and medical professionals sometimes have a very small window in which to gather evidence against your offender. During this time, you may be struggling to process things yourself and it can feel like investigators are not sensitive to your experience. On the other hand, in some cases you may feel like investigators are not going fast enough. You have gone to police and provided what you think is good evidence, and months have gone by without any movement towards an arrest or charge- why haven’t they done anything about it? The law has developed significantly in recent years which make the timing and nature of the investigation very critical to the case.

We are very familiar having acted for both sides with how this process should work. Not only can we help you navigate this confusing and frustrating whirlwind that is the beginning of a case, but we can also liaise with the various players (investigating officers, charge approval Crowns, victims’ services workers, the media) on your behalf. You may want things to move slower, or faster, you may want more information, or you may want the process to stop altogether. We can advocate for your position, whatever it may be.

Transitioning From The Investigation Stage To The Courts

Once charges are laid, the case moves from the investigation stage into the courts. The time between the first court appearance and the conclusion of the case either by trial or sentencing may take anywhere from a month or two to several years. As a victim or witness, you may feel frustrated during this process because the case becomes all about the accused. The accused gets a lawyer of his or her choice who stands up in court asserting his client’s rights and demanding certain things from the Crown and court. The case may drag on for months and months with nothing happening and all you keep hearing about is the accused’s rights. Meanwhile, you are being told exactly how you must cooperate in order to avoid being charged yourself.

As the matter works its way through the courts, the Crown will speak with you periodically, and they may be informative and seem supportive, but it is important to realize that the Crown is not your lawyer. Their obligation is to be fair to the accused and the law, not to advocate for your interests. You are merely their witness. The only way to ensure you are getting all the information, options, and a realistic idea of the consequences of your choices, is to retain your own counsel.

Trial Decision

Finally, the matter will either be dropped, proceed to a guilty plea and sentencing, or a trial. You may hope for one of these things above the others. Communicating with the Crown directly can be counter-productive in this regard. Remember, they are not your lawyer; they have their own interests which are quite different than yours. However, if you have your own counsel, we can tell you what decisions you can make which will likely lead to certain outcomes.

If Your Case Goes To Trial

If the case goes the distance and you find yourself with a subpoena to testify at a trial, it may be over a year after you first became victimized by the accused. Your memory will be put to the test. But your heart will be tested harder. You will have to sit in a closed space, the accused watching you as you speak, his lawyer treating you like a liar, or a drunk, or a slut… This may be the first time you have had to face him since the incident, or this may end a long string of him attempting to dissuade you from testifying. Either way, here you are. If you weren’t feeling victimized before, you certainly are now- at least if you didn’t know what to expect and were not prepared.

Reviewing Your Statement Before Trial

The Crown can let you review your statement before testifying and will give you some pointers on how the court works. But, again, the only way to be fully prepared is with your own counsel. Having prosecuted hundreds of cases, I can walk you through every possible question and situation in advance of the trial. My favourite exercise that I use to prepare my victim/witness clients to testify is a role play; first I play the Crown and ask them every question the Crown can possibly ask, and then I play the defence lawyer, and cross-examine them way harder than they will likely ever be cross-examined in court. The opportunity for my clients to go through this process in a private setting, in the safety and comfort of my office before facing the accused in trial, has proven invaluable and unmatchable by any other means. Just remember that if you get tripped up, riled up, or choked up while testifying it can make the difference between guilty and not guilty. Don’t get caught off guard. Let us help you prepare. We can stand up for your rights as a victim of crime. Contact Filkow Law if you have been victimized.

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Driving Law

Driving While Prohibited

Licence Prohibitions

ICBC Breaches & Accidents

Immediate Roadside Prohibitions

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did I get a driving prohibition from RoadSafetyBC?

What is the difference between a fully-licensed driver (Class 5) and a new driver (Class 7)?

What if I have an international driver’s licence?

I have my full licence (Class 5). How many points am I allowed before I will be prohibited?

I am a new driver (Class 7). How many points am I allowed before I will be prohibited?

What is considered a high-risk driving offence?

I have a letter referring me to the Driver Improvement Program. What does that mean?

I received a Notice of Intent to Prohibit. What does this mean?

I have received a Notice of Intent to Prohibit Letter. What can I do?

If RoadSafetyBC already intends to prohibit me from driving. Why should I submit a request to review my prohibition within 21 days?

I received a Notice of Prohibition. What does this mean?

How is a Notice of Prohibition different from a Notice of Intent to Prohibit?

I received a Notice of Prohibition but I am still driving. What will happen?

What are the possible outcomes after I send my letter?

What considerations does RoadSafetyBC make when reviewing my submission?

This is the first driving ticket I have ever received, and I am a good driver. Should I bother disputing it?

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Driving Law

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