Did you know that in Canada, our DUI laws can result in being arrested and found guilty of operating a motorized scooter while drunk?
How could this be? Well, the definition of a motor vehicle is any vehicle that is towed, propelled, or driven by any means other than muscular force.
These DUI laws stem from the Ontario case Rv Shanahan. The facts of this case are as follows. A man who was injured used a motorized scooter for a night out. He ended up getting drunk. He was seen by police erratically crossing a street. He was “arrested” and charged with driving while intoxicated.
An important piece of information in this case is that the defendant could move about a hundred to a hundred and fifty meters on his own.
The Ontario Court hearing the case determined that a personal motorized device, such as a wheelchair, is a motor vehicle under the Penal Code. However, the defendant then filed an application under section 15 of the Charger arguing that his equality rights were violated.
The equal rights hearing addressed the following two issues.
1. Were the defendant’s section 15 equality rights violated?
JD Wake J. (the Hon. Justice) held that Canada’s DUI laws (in this case, section 253 of the Penal Code) do not distinguish between persons who are dependent on motorized wheelchairs and persons who do not require wheelchairs motorized.
The defendant then argued that the DUI laws resulted in injustice (ie, inequality) to non-disabled people. This argument failed because the Court found that the defendant got around without a motorized wheelchair.
Also, able-bodied people who walk in public while intoxicated can be arrested and convicted of mischief. This means that there is really no difference regarding DUI laws between disabled and non-disabled people. Both groups can be arrested for being drunk in public.
2. The Court then addressed whether the result offended the dignity of the accused under section 15 of the Charter.
The Court held no for the following reason:
“The argument in favor of demolishing art. 253 [of the Criminal Code] It seems that the dignity of a disabled person can only be upheld if they are given the right to behave with a lack of dignity. In my opinion, section 15 of the Charter should not be used to support the result of such inverted reasoning.”
When all is said and done, a person who drives a motorized wheelchair can be convicted of DUI in Canada.
Consider the following 3 points/questions:
This specific case (Rv Shanahan) involved someone not totally disabled. Therefore, the result could be different if a person were 100 percent disabled.
Question: Are people with pain medication problems unable to use motorized wheelchairs outside of their home? I just ask this question, I don’t know the answer.
Can a person be arrested for DUI simply by sitting in a stationary personal motorized device, such as a wheelchair?
DUI laws in Canada hold that a person in the driver’s seat of a car or truck while incapacitated can be found guilty of our DUI laws. I have not read a case addressing this issue, but it seems possible to be immobile in a restaurant in a motorized wheelchair, for example, while incapacitated to violate Canada’s DUI laws.