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This is an official version. Copyright © 2000: Queen's Printer, Important Information
Statutes of Newfoundland 1994 CHAPTER 18 AN ACT TO AMEND THE HIGHWAY TRAFFIC ACT (Assented to December 16, 1994) Analysis 1. S.6 Amdt. 2. S.41 Amdt. 3. S.42 Amdt. 4. S.48 Amdt. 5. S.49 Amdt. 6. Ss.60.1 to 60.3 Added 7. S.61 Amdt. 8. S.65 Amdt. 9. S.66 Rep. 10. S.67 Amdt. 11. Ss.68 & 69 R&S 12. S.70 Amdt. 13. S.71 Amdt. 14. S.72 Amdt. 15. S.195 Amdt. 16. S.213 Amdt. 17. Sch. Amdt. 18. Commencement Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows: RSN 1990 cH-3 as amended 1. Section 6 of the Highway Traffic Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection 6(1) the following: (1.1) Where information contained in driver or vehicle records, or of an entry in those records kept in the division, is requested, a copy of the information contained in the record may be released to (a) other government departments or agencies of the province, a municipality, the Government of Canada, the government of another Canadian jurisdiction, or the government of a state or country, to ensure compliance with a statute or order; (b) research groups, market analysis companies, study groups and similar organizations, where the information is not to be used for solicitation purposes; (c) motor vehicle manufacturers or other agents for recall of defective motor vehicles; or (d) another individual, group or agency where in the opinion of the minister the release of the information is not contrary to the public interest. 2. Section 41 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (3) the following: (4) Notwithstanding section 42, a peace officer may affix an invalidation sticker to the licence plates of a motor vehicle the person was driving while his or her driver's licence is suspended. 3. Paragraph 42(b) of the Act is amended by adding immediately before the semicolon at the end of the paragraph a comma and the words "subject to subsection 41(4)". 4. Section 48 of the Act is amended by deleting the word "The" at the beginning of subsection (1) and substituting the words and comma "Except as provided for in subsection 71(4), the". 5. Section 49 of the Act is amended by adding immediately after subsection (3) the following: (4) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a driver or person having the care or control of a vehicle who surrendered his or her driver's licence and was given notice of a 24 hour suspension under section 60.1 shall, upon being asked for his or her driver's licence, after the suspension period has expired produce notice of that suspension which shall serve as proof that the person does hold a driver's licence which was suspended and has been reinstated as of the date and time given on the notice. 6. The Act is amended by adding immediately after section 60 the following: Request for surrender of driver's licence at roadside 60.1 (1) Where, upon demand of a peace officer made under section 254 of the Criminal Code, the driver of a motor vehicle or a person who has the care or control of a motor vehicle provides a sample of his or her breath which, on an analysis by an approved screening device as defined in section 258 of the Criminal Code, registers "WARN" or "FAIL", the peace officer shall request the driver to surrender his or her driver's licence. (2) Where, upon demand of a peace officer made under section 254 of the Criminal Code, the driver of a motor vehicle or a person who has the care or control of a motor vehicle provides a sample of his or her breath which, on analysis by an instrument approved as suitable for the purpose of section 258 of the Criminal Code, indicates that the proportion of alcohol in his or her blood is 50 milligrams or more of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, the peace officer shall request the driver to surrender his or her driver's licence. (3) Where a person is charged with an offence under section 253 or 254 of the Criminal Code, or a procedure is taken pending the laying of the charge to assure the person's attendance in court on the charge, a peace officer shall request the person to surrender his or her driver's licence. (4) For the purpose of subsection (1) the screening device shall not be calibrated to register "WARN" or "FAIL" when the proportion of alcohol in the blood of the person whose breath is being analyzed is less than 50 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. (5) It shall be presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that a screening device used for the purpose of subsection (1) has been calibrated as required under subsection (4). (6) Where an analysis of the breath of a person is made under subsection (1) and registers "WARN", the person may require a further analysis to be performed in the manner provided in subsection (2), in which case the result obtained on the 2nd analysis governs and a revocation and suspension resulting from an analysis under subsection (1) continues or terminates accordingly. (7) Where an analysis of the breath of a person is made under subsection (1) and registers "WARN", the peace officer who made the demand under subsection (1) shall advise the person of his or her right under subsection (6) to a further analysis. (8) Upon a request being made under subsection (1), (2) or (3) the driver shall immediately surrender his or her driver's licence to the peace officer. (9) Upon a request being made under subsection (1), (2) or (3), whether or not the driver surrenders his or her driver's licence to the peace officer, his or her driver's licence or driving privileges are suspended for a period of 24 hours from the time the request is made. (10) A 24 hour suspension shall be served concurrently with a prior unexpired suspension. (11) Where, under this section, the driver's licence or driving privileges of a driver are suspended, the peace officer who requested the surrender of the driver's licence shall (a) keep a record of the driver's licence or driving privileges suspended with the name and address of the driver and the date and time of suspension; (b) provide the driver whose driver's licence or driving privileges are suspended with a notice which shall include the time from which the suspension takes effect and the length of the period during which his or her driver's licence is suspended, and that notice shall, where the driver surrenders his or her driver's licence, constitute a receipt of the surrender of that driver's licence; and (c) notify the registrar of the suspension of the driver's licence or driving privileges. (12) Upon the termination of the suspension of the driver's licence under this section, the driver's licence shall, if it were surrendered to a peace officer, be returned to the driver at the address shown on the driver's licence or to another address requested by the driver. Progressively increased suspensions 60.2 The registrar shall suspend the driver's licence or driving privileges of a driver who within 24 consecutive months has incurred a 24 hour suspension (a) for a 3rd time, for 2 months; (b) for a 4th time, for 4 months; or (c) for a 5th or subsequent time, for 6 months. Removal of vehicle 60.3 (1) Where, under section 60.1, the driver's licence or driving privileges of a driver are suspended, and the motor vehicle which the driver was driving at the time is in a location from which, in the opinion of the peace officer who requested the surrender of the driver's licence or driving privileges, it should be removed, and there is no person with a driver's licence easily available to remove the motor vehicle with the consent of the driver, the peace officer may remove the motor vehicle or cause it to be removed to a nearby area where parking is permitted and notify the driver of its location. (2) Where a peace officer requests assistance to remove a motor vehicle under subsection (1), the costs and charges incurred in moving or storing the vehicle, or both, are the responsibility of the driver whose driver's licence or driving privileges has been suspended. 7. (1) Subsection 61(2) of the Act is amended by deleting the words "who shall endorse on the licence the particulars of the conviction, plea or finding". (2) Subsection 61(3) of the Act is repealed. 8. (1) Subsection 65(1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted: Suspension or cancellation 65. (1) The registrar shall by written order suspend or cancel the driver's licence or driving privileges of a person who pleads guilty to or is found guilty of an offence committed anywhere in Canada under section 220, 221, 236, 251, 252 or subsection 259(4) of the Criminal Code or of another offence under the Criminal Code which involves the use of a motor vehicle or in the commission of which a motor vehicle was used, for a period of not less than (a) 12 months in the case of a 1st offence; (b) 24 months for a 2nd offence committed within a 5 year period; and (c) 36 months for a 3rd and subsequent offence committed within a 5 year period. (2) Subsection 65(2) of the Act is amended by deleting the reference "paragraph (1)(b)" and substituting the references "paragraphs (1)(b) and (c)". (3) Section 65 of the Act is further amended by adding immediately after subsection (2) the following: (3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where a judge makes an order prohibiting a person from operating a motor vehicle for a greater period than that outlined in subsection (1), the registrar shall impose the same period of suspension as the judge has imposed. 9. Section 66 of the Act is repealed. 10. Section 67 of the Act is amended by deleting the comma, words and figures "subsection 64(1), subsection 65(1) or subsection 66(1)" and substituting the words and figures "subsection 64(1) or subsection 65(1)". 11. Sections 68 and 69 of the Act are repealed and the following substituted: Driving without a driver's licence 68. The registrar shall by written order suspend or cancel the driver's licence of a person who pleads guilty to or is found guilty of an offence committed under subsection 73(2), for a period of not less than (a) 4 months in the case of a 1st offence; and (b) 9 months in the case of a subsequent offence committed within a period of 5 years. Commencement of suspension or cancellation 69. (1) The suspension or cancellation of a driver's licence under section 64, 65 or 68 has effect from the date of the respective conviction, plea or finding. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where a 2nd or subsequent suspension occurs before the initial suspension or cancellation has expired, the second or subsequent suspension shall be in addition to the period of suspension or cancellation imposed initially under section 64, 65 or 68 and shall begin upon expiration of the previous period of suspension or cancellation. 12. Subsection 70(1) of the Act is amended by deleting the section references "section 64, 65, 66 or 68" and substituting "section 64, 65 or 68". 13. (1) Subsection 71(1) of the Act is amended by deleting the section references "section 64, 65, 66 or 68" and substituting "section 64, 65 or 68". (2) Subsection 71(4) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted: (4) Where the registrar receives evidence showing that the privileges of a person to drive a motor vehicle have been suspended or cancelled under a law of a jurisdiction outside the province, the tenor of which the registrar considers to be similar to section 64, 65 or 68, the registrar may, by written order, cancel the driver's licence granted to that person under this Act, and that driver's licence shall remain suspended or cancelled while the same privileges remain suspended or cancelled in that jurisdiction, except in the case of a person issued a driver's licence in the province whose driving privileges were subsequently suspended or cancelled in the province for a period of time which has expired, in which case the registrar may issue a driver's licence despite the fact a jurisdiction outside the province may have imposed a longer period of suspension or cancellation for the same offence which has not yet expired. 14. Subsection 72(1) of the Act is amended by adding immediately after the word "registrar" where it appears for the 1st and 2nd times the words "or peace officer". 15. (1) Subsection 195(1) of the Act is amended by adding immediately after paragraph (u) the following: (u.1) prescribe requirements for the successful completion of an educational program prior to reinstatement of driving privileges for a driver whose driver's licence was suspended due to alcohol or drug-related offences; (u.2) provide for screening tests to determine whether or not a driver is dependent upon alcohol or other drugs, and where necessary completion of an appropriate rehabilitation program prior to a driver's licence reinstatement for drivers with repeat alcohol-related suspensions; (2) Section 195 of the Act is further amended by adding the following immediately after subsection (4): (5) Subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, in a regulation made under this section, the minister may prescribe penalties for a failure to comply with or other contravention of the regulations. 16. Section 213 of the Act is amended by adding the following immediately after subsection (2): (3) For the purpose of this Act, a driver's licence and the privilege to obtain or hold a driver's licence are equivalent. 17. The Schedule to the Act is amended by deleting the number "20" and substituting the number "45" in the line commencing with "106(29)". Commencement 18. This Act comes into force on December 30, 1994. ©Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer |