Changes to N.B.’s impaired driving rules take effect Jan. 1 [Video]

New rules governing impaired driving in New Brunswick come into effect on Jan. 1. 

The amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act give police two ways to deal with impaired drivers.

Most will be diverted from the court system — thereby avoiding a criminal record — by using the new administrative penalty, known as the immediate roadside suspension.

Under the new rules, penalties begin below the Criminal Code threshold of 0.08. Anyone whose blood-alcohol content is between 0.05 and 0.08 will have their licence immediately suspended for seven days and their vehicle impounded for at least three days.

Drivers who have a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 or greater, or who refuse to give a breath sample, will receive a three-month licence suspension and have their vehicle impounded for at least 30 days. 

They will also have to use an ignition interlock device for 12 months. The system requires the driver to blow into a …