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My boyfriend was driving my car and did something very stupid. He had a beer at some point during work hours and proceeded to drive home. What could be a long story short, cop found an empty beer can in the back of the car, gave bf a breathlyzer and it alerted a warning. So bf got a ticket for $200 for open container and had his license suspended for 3 days. He did not physically have his license on him, he must have lost it recently, so they didn't confiscate it.

Now- he has his g2 license. He is 26 years old and just never felt the urgency to get his full G.

I have not been able to contact the MOT because of course it is the fricking weekend.

We are in an awkward situation right now where we were about to move an hour out of the city to a gorgeous house but if he has his license suspended for a YEAR we will obviously not be able to do that as how will he travel to work. This all happened one day before we were to sign the lease btw.

So... my questions.... does anyone know how long his suspension will be? 30 days or a year? This is his first ticket or fine, DUI, etc, ever. Doesn't have any demerit points gone from his license.

He is currently not staying at the address on his license (but still technically lives there) so we have not received any mail as of yet.

I'm pretty ticked off and just want to understand if we can kiss our awesome place in the country goodbye. This not knowing sucks.

If it IS a 30 day suspension, would that have started immediately after the 3 day suspension???? He works a good 35 minutes away from our home so I am currently driving him into work. I don't even know if his license is suspended, I can't find anything definitive online and the cop apparently told him nothing.

Replies SO MUCH APPRECIATED!!!! Thank you!

So... he is going to lose his license entirely???? oh god.

What tickets did he get? Was it just the Open Alcohol or did he get another one Young Drive BAC Above Zero?.

If all he got was the pink Warn fine slip then the cop gave him a break and he will be fine after the 3 day suspension. Can you tell us exactly what tickets he received?

He had a beer at some point during work hours

If he had "a" beer and registered a warn, I'm the Pope..........

Is he fighting the charge? (assuming he only was charged with open alcohol?)...

He should consider this. Not to discredit what he may or may not have consumed, simply having an empty bottle or can on the back seat does not in any way constitute a crime. He should fight this charge. The Crown will need to prove that there was actually alcohol in that can/bottle. Did the Officer confiscate the empty can? Most likely not - and even if he did - did the Officer enter this into evidence for the Crown? Most likely not... but yet again - if he did - did the Officer follow the 'Rules of Evidence' and have the residue in the can tested to ensure it was actually alcohol? I'm willing to bet s/he did not. It's a charge that with a bit of diligent arguing, can be easily won.

As for the Graduated Licensing program - can't offer you much advice there except what's already been written. Hope it works out for you both.

Ok here's the deal. Suspension will be thirty days after conviction or he pays the fine. Ministry will send a letter. Also he will need to go to the Ministry to get his licence reinstated after both suspensions and pay their fees. Otherwise he will be unlicenced. Don't start driving using his old licence after the 3 days. Damn near impossible to beat because the roadside acts as an independent witness and the evidence it provides is difficult to dispute. This is assuming he was charged with young driver bac above zero.

Its not the end of the world. They won't take his licence away unless he's habitual. This is a wake up call though. If he registered a TRUE warn his BAC was between 50-99mg. That's way more than a single beer. If he told you he had one then he's lying to you which you will need to deal with. If he registered an "F" and the Officer gave him a 3 day instead, then he just got a GIANT break. Only your boyfriend and the Officer know what truly happened though.

SpeedReform wrote:did the Officer follow the 'Rules of Evidence' and have the residue in the can tested to ensure it was actually alcohol?

In regards to testing the can for alcohol, I'd say that usually isn't required for Provincial Offences Court. While it will be dependent on the totality of the circumstances, the officer only needs to show beyond a reasonable doubt that the can contained an alcoholic beverage. If the officer can testify to the fact that the container smelt like an alcoholic beverage and had markings indicating it contained alcohol, that would typically be sufficient for Court.