Police officers should exercise common sense when dealing with an elderly person with breathing difficulties…But the reality is police are empowered to use this new federal law to issue IRPs to drivers, who, in many cases, have not done anything wrong.

Jennifer Teryn, Lawyer

“Teryn, who practises criminal, administrative and constitutional law and has conducted more than 300 reviews of immediate roadside prohibitions, said the implications of the new legislation terrify her.

“How do you prove to a police officer, who is in a position of extreme power and authority over all of us, that your inability to provide that sample is legitimate?” she asked. “And the consequences are profound.

“If you’re given an IRP, in addition to the impoundment and the driving prohibition, the financial consequences range from $2,500 to $2,800. If you want to fight it, a lawyer costs a significant amount of money, and there’s no guarantee you’re going to be successful.”

Teryn was successful in having Forsyth’s prohibition revoked by an adjudicator with Road Safety B.C. The adjudicator found that Forsyth, who had bronchitis for several weeks and was on antibiotics, had a reasonable excuse to fail the test.”

Louise Dickson, Times Colonist

Full article available on TimesColonist.com.