If you use a motorized personal device in Canada, don’t get drunk and head out on the streets because you can be found guilty for impaired driving.

How could this be you ask? Well, the definition of a motor vehicle is any vehicle that is drawn, propelled or driven by any means other than muscular power.

These DUI laws stem from the Ontario case R. v. Shanahan. The facts are a man who was hurt, used a motorized scooter while drinking. He was spotted by police crossing a road erratically. He was “pulled over” and charged with impaired driving.

An important point is the accused was not 100 percent disabled; he could walk 100 to 150 meters. Therefore, he was not entirely confined to a wheelchair.

The Ontario Court hearing the case found that a motorized personal device, such as a personal device is a motor vehicle under the Criminal Code. However, the defendant then made an application under section 15 of the Charger arguing his equality rights were breached.

The equality rights hearing addressed the following two issues.

1. Were the accused’s section 15 equality rights breached?

J.D. Wake J. held that the Canada DUI laws (section 253 of the Criminal Code) does not make a distinction between people reliant on motorized wheelchairs and people who don’t need motorized scooters.

Next, the comparison group used by the accused was able-bodied persons who consumed too much alcohol. This comparison for equality breach did not persuade the Court because the accused was mobile without a motorized wheelchair.

Moreover, able-bodied people who walk in public while drunk can be arrested and convicted for mischief – therefore lessening any distinction even more.

2. What about the dignity of the defendant under s. fifteen of the Charter?

The Honourable Judge found the following regarding the accused’s dignity.

“The argument in favour of striking down s.253 seems to be that the dignity of a disabled person can only be sustained if he is afforded the right to behave with a lack of dignity. In my view s.15 of the Charter should not be used to support the result of such inverted reasoning.”

At the end of the day, Canada DUI laws mean a person cannot be drunk while operating a motorized wheelchair.

Consider these aspects:

This specific case involved someone not totally disabled. Therefore, the outcome could be different if a person was 100 percent disabled.

Is it possible a person could be found guilty of our DUI laws if while on pain medication used a motorized wheelchair?

Can a person be impaired simply sitting in a stationary motorized personal device? The DUI laws in Canada hold that a person in the driver’s seat of a car or truck while impaired can be found guilty of our DUI laws. I haven’t read a case addressing this issue, but it seems possible being stationary in a restaurant, for instance, while impaired in a motorized wheelchair Canada’s DUI laws.

If you’ve been charged with a crime such as DUI in BC, visit Vancouver defence lawyer website to learn more about Canada DUI laws and how Dykstra & Company can help you.

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