SafeRoads Dispute In Alberta

If you were served an Immediate Roadside Sanction, you have 7 days to request a SafeRoads Alberta review and 21 days until the review itself. Miss the first deadline and the penalty stands: for an IRS FAIL that means a 90-day driving ban, 12 more months on an ignition interlock, a 30-day vehicle seizure and a $1,200 bill.

Our Alberta SafeRoads dispute lawyers file the request, pull the officer’s disclosure, pick the review format and argue the grounds for cancellation under the SafeRoads Alberta Regulation. We are the first firm to take an IRS case to the Supreme Court of Canada, and we run reviews virtually for drivers anywhere in Alberta. Call 403-719-6410 before you touch the portal. If police also laid a Criminal Code charge, our impaired driving lawyers defend both files together.

What the law requires before an IRS can stand

Immediate Roadside Sanctions are issued under Part 2, Division 3 of the Traffic Safety Act and served as a Notice of Administrative Penalty (NAP) under the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act. Section 7(1) of that Act gives you 7 days from the date the NAP is issued to file a request for review and pay the $150 fee. The adjudicator may only cancel the NAP on a ground listed in section 4 of the SafeRoads Alberta Regulation, and you must prove that ground on a balance of probabilities. Financial hardship and needing your vehicle for work are not grounds.

An IRS FAIL under section 88.1 requires the officer to have had reasonable grounds to believe that you:

• Operated a motor vehicle while your ability to do so was impaired to any degree by alcohol or a drug or by a combination of alcohol and a drug; or
• Within 2 hours after ceasing to operate a motor vehicle, had a blood alcohol concentration that was equal to or exceeds 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood; or
• Within 2 hours after ceasing to operate a motor vehicle, had a blood drug concentration that is equal to or exceeds any blood drug concentration for the drug (prescribed by regulation under the Criminal Code); or
• Within 2 hours after ceasing to operate a motor vehicle, had a combined blood alcohol and drug concentration equal to or exceeding the limits prescribed by the Criminal Code; or
• Failed or refused, without a reasonable excuse, to comply with a demand made under section 320.27 or 320.28 of the Criminal Code.

If the officer’s report does not show those grounds, the second-test advice required by section 88.11, or a properly administered screening test, the NAP should not survive review.

The five Immediate Roadside Sanctions

IRS FAIL (s. 88.1)

Impairment, 0.08 or more, drug limits, or refusal. First occurrence: 90-day suspension, then 12 months on interlock, 30-day seizure, $1,000 fine plus 20 per cent surcharge. Escalates to 36 months on a second and lifetime on a third.

IRS WARN (s. 88.03)

Blood alcohol 0.05 to 0.079 or a failed sobriety test. First occurrence: 3-day suspension, 3-day seizure, $300 fine plus surcharge; 15 days and $600 on a second; 30 days and $1,200 on a third.

IRS ZERO Novice (s. 88.01)

Any alcohol or drug for a Class 7 or Class 5-GDL driver: 30-day suspension, 7-day seizure, $200 fine plus surcharge.

IRS ZERO Commercial (s. 88.02)

Any alcohol or drug while operating a commercial vehicle: 3, 15 or 30-day suspension and $300, $600 or $1,200 by occurrence.

IRS 24-Hour (s. 88)

Reasonable suspicion of alcohol, a drug or a medical condition affecting your driving: 24-hour suspension, no fine.

Full figures for every sanction are on our Immediate Roadside Sanctions lawyers page and at alberta.ca.

Upon receiving an IRS, you have three options:

1. Pay the fine online by the given deadline and accept the associated penalties.
2. Request additional time to pay your fine online and accept the associated penalties.
3. Book an oral or written review to dispute the IRS. This is the only option that can remove the suspension, the fine, the seizure and the abstract entry.

All the above options can be completed by logging in to your SafeRoads portal.

Although this 7-day deadline is tight, SafeRoads is legislatively mandated to provide timely decisions. As stated in the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, if you proceed with a review, SafeRoads is required to provide a decision regarding your appeal within 30 days from the day your IRS was issued.

Prior to beginning your application for review, the Immediate Sanctions Review request Information Sheet is a helpful resource. The information includes what you can expect when you request a review and any considerations you should make prior to booking one.

If you still aren’t sure about whether applying for a review is right for you, our lawyers at Strategic Criminal Defence can be retained to examine all the evidence uploaded onto your SafeRoads portal and provide you feedback as to your chances of success. We have lawyers of all levels who can provide this review at a cost that respects your financial situation. This service allows you to have the benefit of a lawyer who can provide honest, comprehensive feedback, without you taking the risk of booking a review unnecessarily.

What are the steps for disputing a penalty?

Once you have decided, you must complete the following steps to successfully book a review and dispute your penalty. If you choose to hire Strategic Criminal Defence to represent you at your review, we will apply and appear on your behalf:

1. Login to the SafeRoads online portal.

• Have your paperwork with you! Your Notice of Administrative penalty contains the necessary information needed to access your SafeRoads portal and book a review.
• You will need to input your:
  • Contravention number (found at the top of the Notice of Administrative Penalty);
  • Last name;
  • Date of birth; and
  • Occurrence time.

2. Request the review.

• Once you have logged in to the portal, you will see a box that says, “Apply for a Review.”
• Select a date and time for your review. It must be held within 21 days of the date the NAP was issued, and you can reschedule or switch between oral and written up to 11:59 pm the day before.
• It is your responsibility to confirm a date and time that is conducive to your schedule.

3. Upload supporting documents.

• The deadline to upload all supporting documents is 2 full calendar days before your review. If your review is on a Thursday, everything must be in by 11:59 pm Monday. Law enforcement can add documents up to 4 days before the review, so your grounds may need updating after you first file.
• You may submit evidence such as witness statements or video and audio recordings as part of your submissions.

If you choose to retain legal counsel, SafeRoads requires that you complete and upload a Consent to Representation form. Once complete, your representative can address all the above steps on your behalf and appear for you at your review.

Reviews are conducted orally or in writing (they do not occur in-person). It is your decision as to which type of review you prefer, and this is selected when you request the review on your SafeRoads portal.

The adjudicator will render his or her decision based on all the arguments offered, the supporting documents submitted, and provisions of relevant legislation. This includes the Traffic Safety Act, SafeRoads Alberta Regulation and the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act.

Once the decision is available, you or your lawyer will be notified via your preferred contact method (email or phone). A copy of the decision is available for download on the SafeRoads portal. SafeRoads decisions can be published on CanLII.

Missed the 7 days? Late review

Up to 12 months after the NAP was issued you can apply for a late review for a $50 non-refundable fee, but only if you meet the exceptional circumstances in section 10 of the Provincial Administrative Penalties Regulation. If granted, a new 7-day window opens. The same route, under section 10(3)(b), lets you reopen a review to introduce evidence that was not available in time.

Lost the review? Judicial review

An adjudicator’s decision can be challenged in the Court of King’s Bench on a reasonableness standard under section 24(2) of the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act. The originating application must be filed and served on the Director within 30 days of receiving the decision. This is how Smit v Alberta (Director of SafeRoads), 2023 ABKB 435, forced the Director to disclose police recordings. Call 403-719-6410 as soon as you receive an adverse decision; 30 days is short.

What are the Fees and Penalties Associated with an IRS?

The fee to apply for a review of an IRS is $150 and is non-refundable, win or lose. Lawyer, interpreter and translator costs are yours. Our fee for the review is quoted up front.

IRS FAIL penalties by occurrence (source: alberta.ca):

Every occurrence also puts an impaired driving entry on your driving record, and towing and impound fees are yours. A second or later IRS FAIL is often paired with a charge under section 320.14 of the Criminal Code, which carries a criminal record; see Impaired Driving and Over 80 (s. 320.14) Laws in Canada.

What an IRS does to the rest of your life

• Work: anyone who drives for a living, holds a Class 1 to 4 licence or operates a commercial vehicle usually cannot work through a 90-day suspension, and some employers treat an interlock condition as disqualifying.
• Insurance: insurers read the abstract entry as an impaired driving occurrence and rate it like a conviction for several years.
• Record and travel: an IRS is not a criminal conviction. On its own it does not create a criminal record, immigration consequences or a US entry problem. A companion Criminal Code conviction does all three.
• Vehicle: the 30-day seizure applies even if the vehicle belongs to someone else, and the registered owner pays to get it out.

If your review succeeds, every penalty is cancelled: your licence is reinstated, the fine is cancelled, the vehicle is released and nothing goes on your driving record. You can also apply to the issuing police service to be compensated for seizure and towing costs.

Call 403-719-6410 for a free consultation on whether your records show a ground worth fighting.

How Can I Beat my IRS?

You bear the burden: you must prove, on a balance of probabilities, one of the grounds for cancellation in section 4 of the SafeRoads Alberta Regulation. The reviews we win are won on the officer’s own records. These are the four grounds that succeed most often.

No written roadside appeal advice or no second test (s. 88.11)

Applies when the officer did not inform you in writing of your right to a second test on a different approved screening device, did not immediately provide one, or did not conduct the roadside appeal properly.

Screening test not properly administered

Applies when the report does not show the device, the observation period, the calibration record, or that the test was given within the time frames the legislation requires. Mouth alcohol and a missed observation period fall here.

Driving or care and control not established

Applies when the officer did not verify that you were driving or in care and control of the vehicle, or when the report does not record the grounds the section requires, such as signs of impairment for an impairment-based FAIL.

Incomplete disclosure

Applies when the Director has not provided the records required by section 2 of the SafeRoads Alberta Regulation, including existing in-car or body-worn recordings. After Smit (2023 ABKB 435) and Ernst (2024 ABKB 68), a review decided without them is open to judicial review.

For a longer list of arguments, read How to Beat An Alberta IRS.

How do I Pay my IRS Penalty?

The fine associated with a SafeRoads penalty can be found on your Notice of Administrative Penalty paperwork, as well as on the main page of your SafeRoads Alberta portal. The portal will also tell you the deadline for making the full payment. The fine shown on the portal will include the fine attached to the IRS, in addition to a victim fine surcharge.

You can pay your SafeRoads penalty in full or in partial payments through the SafeRoads portal, or request time to pay. Paying is an admission that ends the review option, so talk to us first.

Understanding Your Vehicle Seizure Notice

As part of your Notice of Administrative Penalty, it is likely you received a Seizure Notice. This notice informs you that your vehicle has been impounded in a tow lot for a set period.

A Seizure Notice can be disputed through the SafeRoads portal, however only in specific instances. First, consider whether you were the driver of the vehicle when it was seized, or an affected person. An example of an affected person is where you were driving your friend’s car and you are not the registered owner.

While the process is generally similar regardless of whether you were driving or not, there are some slight differences. If you were the one operating the vehicle at the time it was seized, you will request a review under the Suspended Driver Vehicle Seizure Program. As the driver of the seized vehicle, you pay a non-refundable $150 application fee. An affected person pays $50 (alberta.ca).

Whether or not you were the driver, you will be responsible for any impound lot fees or legal representation expenses that you incur.

The deadline to apply for a vehicle seizure review is the end of the day (11:59 pm) the day before your vehicle is set to be released from the impound lot. You have discretion over the date of your review, which you can choose on the SafeRoads portal.

Vehicle seizure reviews are decided in writing. The process consists of uploading written submissions to the SafeRoads portal. As with an IRS review, you are responsible for uploading any supporting documents by end of the day, the day before your review is scheduled.

If you choose to retain legal counsel upon receiving a Seizure Notice, SafeRoads requires that you fill out a Consent to Representation form which must be uploaded to your SafeRoads portal.

The outcome of your appeal request will be made available in the SafeRoads portal, and you will be notified of this update either through e-mail or by phone.

If you successfully appeal your Seizure Notice, the impound lot where your vehicle is impounded will be notified to discharge your vehicle immediately. If you are unsuccessful, the vehicle must remain in the impound lot for the time specified on your Notice of Administrative Penalty.

If your vehicle has been seized, call 403-719-6410 the same day. The seizure review deadline runs out the night before the release date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a SafeRoads review the same as fighting a criminal charge?

No. A SafeRoads review is an administrative hearing before an adjudicator, decided on records within 21 days, where the onus is on you to establish a ground for cancellation. A Criminal Code charge is a court case where the Crown has to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. You can have both at once.

Can the officer withdraw the IRS?

No. Once the NAP is issued, only an adjudicator can cancel it, and only on a ground in section 4 of the SafeRoads Alberta Regulation.

Will an IRS show up on a background check?

It appears on your Alberta driver’s abstract, which employers and insurers can request. It is not a criminal record and does not appear on a police criminal record check unless a Criminal Code charge followed.

Is an IRS WARN worth disputing?

Often, yes. A first WARN is 3 days and $300, but a second WARN within 10 years escalates to 15 days and a course, and the abstract entry raises insurance. The same section 88.11 second-test rules apply.

What should I do today?

Do not drive. Photograph the NAP and seizure notice, write down everything from the stop to the paperwork, note whether you were offered a second test, and call 403-719-6410. Do not file on the portal before you speak to a lawyer: the grounds you select shape the review.

What happens if I lose?

The sanction stands, the $150 fee is not refunded, and you have 30 days to seek judicial review in the Court of King’s Bench if the decision was unreasonable.

Related driving offences

• Immediate Roadside Sanctions lawyers: the five IRS types and what each one costs.
• Impaired driving lawyers: when a Criminal Code s. 320.14 charge accompanies the NAP.
• Traffic offences lawyers: driving while suspended after an IRS and other Traffic Safety Act charges.
• Notice of Administrative Penalty disputes: the defences and published decisions in detail.

Served an Immediate Roadside Sanction in Alberta?

You have 7 days to request the review and 21 days until it is heard. We file, obtain disclosure and argue the grounds, virtually, for drivers anywhere in Alberta. The consultation is free. Call 403-719-6410 or send a message using the form below.