If you are facing criminal driving charges, you need a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto to look at your case as soon as possible.
Criminal driving includes multiple motor vehicle offences in the Criminal Code, and is different from charges under the Highway Traffic Act of Ontario (e.g. impaired driving vs careless driving).
Criminal driving offences in Canada can be found in sections 320.13 to 320.18 of the Criminal Code. The main driving-related crimes include dangerous driving, impaired driving, failing to stop after an accident, and flight from police.
Other offences under this umbrella term of criminal driving include:
- Refusing or failing to comply with the demands of a peace officer (e.g. to provide a breath sample);
- Failing to stop at the scene of an accident;
- Evading police causing bodily harm or death; and
- Driving while unauthorized, disqualified or prohibited.
These offences can be prosecuted either as summary offences (less serious) or as indictable offences (more serious), depending on the circumstances.
In most criminal driving cases, a conviction may result in harsh penalties that could include mandatory sentences. Punishments can include jail time, fines, the loss of your driver’s licence, and/or a lifelong criminal record.
Strategic Criminal Defence is a top Google-rated criminal defence firm in Toronto, with over 500 5-star reviews. Our firm, and our experienced legal team, have defended clients in over 10,000 criminal cases. Leveraging our extensive network of lawyers and decades of experience, we craft defence strategies to help those accused of criminal driving beat the charge.
The lawyers at Strategic Criminal Defence are both highly experienced and dedicated to defending your rights and future in the face of these charges. Contact a Toronto criminal driving lawyer today by calling (647) 986-8077.
Key Takeaways
- Breaking the Criminal Code (sections 320.13–320.18) is worse than breaking the Highway Traffic Act and has harsher punishments.
- These charges include driving dangerously, driving while impaired, not stopping after an accident, running away from the police, refusing to take breath samples, driving when you shouldn’t, and more.
- Depending on the crime, it can be charged as less serious (summary) or more serious (indictable).
If you are found guilty, you could go to jail, pay fines, lose your licence, and have a criminal record that lasts your whole life and makes it hard to get a job, move to another country, or travel. - Our lawyers know how to protect your rights, find defences, talk to prosecutors, and maybe even get your penalties lowered.
How can a criminal driving lawyer in Toronto help?
The criminal driving lawyers at Strategic Criminal Defence in Toronto can help with every step of a case, from the time someone is suspected of a crime to the end. Before charges are filed, we can give legal advice that can help the accused understand their rights and how to deal with the police.
We would start getting ready for your defence by looking at what the police did and the evidence they have against you. You can do some things to help your case. Here are a few of these methods:
- Putting together documents, photos, texts, and other things that support your version of events and go against the accusation;
- Finding mistakes in the police’s actions, like breaking the Charter; and
- Finding mistakes in the administration of the offence, like not disclosing evidence, losing or destroying evidence, and so on.
- Our lawyers can also get important evidence for driving-related cases, like surveillance footage, police dash-cam videos, and records of how well breath testing equipment is maintained.
- We can hire expert witnesses like toxicologists or accident reconstruction experts to question the Crown’s evidence when we need to.
Our experienced defence lawyers will look at the facts of your case and choose the best defence available.
Criminal Driving Charges in the Criminal Code of Canada
According to section 320.13 of the Criminal Code:
Dangerous operation
320.13 (1) Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance in a manner that, having regard to all of the circumstances, is dangerous to the public.
If you’re facing a dangerous driving allegation, our Dangerous Driving Lawyers in Toronto explain the charge and potential defence strategies.
Operation causing bodily harm
(2) Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance in a manner that, having regard to all of the circumstances, is dangerous to the public and, as a result, causes bodily harm to another person.
Operation causing death
(3) Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance in a manner that, having regard to all of the circumstances, is dangerous to the public and, as a result, causes the death of another person.
According to section 320.14 of the Criminal Code:
Operation while impaired
320.14 (1) Everyone commits an offence who
(a) operates a conveyance while the person’s ability to operate it is impaired to any degree by alcohol or a drug or by a combination of alcohol and a drug;
(b) subject to subsection (5), has, within two hours after ceasing to operate a conveyance, a blood alcohol concentration that is equal to or exceeds 80 mg of alcohol in 100 mL of blood;
(c) subject to subsection (6), has, within two hours after ceasing to operate a conveyance, a blood drug concentration that is equal to or exceeds the blood drug concentration for the drug that is prescribed by regulation; or
(d) subject to subsection (7), has, within two hours after ceasing to operate a conveyance, a blood alcohol concentration and a blood drug concentration that is equal to or exceeds the blood alcohol concentration and the blood drug concentration for the drug that are prescribed by regulation for instances where alcohol and that drug are combined.
If you’ve been charged with impaired driving, learn more about your options with our Impaired Driving Lawyers in Toronto.
Operation causing bodily harm
(2) Everyone commits an offence who commits an offence under subsection (1) and who, while operating the conveyance, causes bodily harm to another person.
Operation causing death
(3) Everyone commits an offence who commits an offence under subsection (1) and who, while operating the conveyance, causes the death of another person.
According to section 320.16 of the Criminal Code:
Failure to stop after accident
320.16 (1) Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance and who at the time of operating the conveyance knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the conveyance has been involved in an accident with a person or another conveyance and who fails, without reasonable excuse, to stop the conveyance, give their name and address and, if any person has been injured or appears to require assistance, offer assistance.
If you’re accused of leaving the scene, our Hit and Run Lawyers in Toronto can help.
Accident resulting in bodily harm
(2) Everyone commits an offence who commits an offence under subsection (1) and who at the time of committing the offence knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the accident resulted in bodily harm to another person.
Accident resulting in death
(3) Everyone commits an offence who commits an offence under subsection (1) and who, at the time of committing the offence, knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the accident resulted in the death of another person or in bodily harm to another person whose death ensues.
According to section 320.18 of the Criminal Code:
Operation while prohibited
320.18 (1) Everyone commits an offence who operates a conveyance while prohibited from doing so
(a) by an order made under this Act; or
(b) by any other form of legal restriction imposed under any other Act of Parliament or under provincial law in respect of a conviction under this Act or a discharge under section 730.
Exception
(2) No person commits an offence under subsection (1) arising out of the operation of a motor vehicle if they are registered in an alcohol ignition interlock device program established under the law of the province in which they reside and they comply with the conditions of the program.
Examples of Criminal Driving Charges
Here are some real-world examples of what can lead to criminal driving charges in Toronto:
- Driving a vehicle while drunk or high. This can include driving with a blood alcohol level over 0.08% or being impaired by legal or illegal drugs.
- Leaving the scene of an accident without stopping to help injured people or exchange information with other drivers after an accident.
- Driving while your licence is suspended or when you are legally banned (prohibited) from driving.
- Driving in a way that puts others at risk, such as excessive speeding, racing, aggressive driving, or other reckless behavior.
Consequences of a Criminal Driving Charge
Because of the broad range of offences classified as “criminal driving,” punishments for a conviction are diverse. They include both criminal penalties imposed by the Toronto court system, and driving suspensions imposed by provincial traffic laws. For example, unique to impaired driving is the addition of an administrative driving suspension that runs alongside, yet separate to criminal charges
For how sentencing works locally, see Criminal Sentencing in Toronto.
In some cases, criminal driving charges do not result in a jail sentence, provided there are no aggravating circumstances and you have a relatively clean criminal record.
However, a conviction for criminal driving can have many negative consequences on your future. You may experience problems securing employment, especially in roles that require driving. The lifelong criminal record that results from a conviction can also hinder immigration and travel.
Criminal Driving Charge Defences
Because of the list of offences that fall under the umbrella of “criminal driving,” and the varied circumstances involved in such charges, there are many different possible defences. Our experienced lawyers will use the most effective defence against the charges according to the precise circumstances of your case.
Here are some common ways to fight different kinds of criminal driving charges:
- Impaired Driving Defence: If the police didn’t do things the correct way when they arrested you, they might have broken your Charter rights. This could mean not letting you call a lawyer or searching your car without a warrant.
- Necessity or Emergency: Sometimes, you might need to drive dangerously because of an emergency.
- Leaving the scene of an accident might be understandable if you really didn’t know an accident happened. This might be true if the cars barely touched and a reasonable person wouldn’t have noticed, or if the weather was bad and made it hard to see.
For more detailed information on defending your criminal driving charge, see the practice area pages specific to your offence.
Criminal Driving Charge Investigation
The Toronto Police Service takes driving offences seriously. They are equipped with the largest team of law enforcement officers in Canada to maintain traffic safety in the city. In fact, the Toronto Police is one of the largest municipal forces in North America, with 16 divisions of 5,500 officers.
If you are stopped by police, you will be routinely checked for driving credentials, and for your licence to drive the vehicle that you are operating.
Given the list of offences included under “criminal driving,” many different events can prompt driving offence investigations. An investigation may be initiated by a routine police stop at the side of the road, an accident, or following a report or complaint from an alleged witness or victim.
In their investigation, the police will likely consult surveillance camera footage as well as written statements from the alleged complainant and witnesses. If they believe you are the perpetrator, they will arrest you, whether at the scene of an accident or later.
Bail Conditions for Criminal Driving Charges
If someone is charged with a driving-related crime, they might be able to get out on bail with certain rules they have to follow until their court date. These conditions change depending on how severe the crime was and the person’s history.
Bail conditions usually say that you can’t drive any kind of vehicle, you have to give your driver’s licence to the police or court, you can’t drink or use drugs, and you have to check in with a bail supervisor on a regular basis.
In more serious cases where someone gets hurt or dies, the rules are usually stricter, such as house arrest or curfew, orders not to talk to victims or their families, and/or restrictions on travel.
If you break any of the conditions of your bail, you could be arrested right away and face more criminal charges.
