Starting today(TUES), police will be able to demand breath samples of drivers they stop—even without reasonable suspicion the motorist has been drinking.
The change to the criminal code allows an officer to make a lawful stop to ask the driver to blow into a screening device.
Sgt. Jason Folz of OPP Central Region says it has always been the practice of the OPP to remove impaired drivers from the road, and for those who have been drinking and are not fully impaired yet, the new law will give police a bit of ammunition to demand that breath sample to see if they are close to the legal limit.
He says the law will assist police in investigations where alcohol is difficult to detect.
Folz says the person may intentionally be trying to conceal the alcohol consumption.
Mandatory minimum fines and maximum penalties will be higher for impaired drivers under the new legislation.
Up until mid-November, the OPP has laid more than 7,300 impaired driving charges across the proivnce this year.
