Over 80 Charge – 5 Things You Need To Know

If you’re facing an Over 80 Charge in Ontario, here are 5 things you need to know.

1/ What does over 80 mean on a breathalyzer?

• If the police believe that you have consumed alcohol while in the care and control of a vehicle, they will arrest you and take you to a police station.
• At the police station, they will ask you to blow into a device.
• If you blow over 80 in Ontario, that means the concentration of alcohol in your blood is greater than 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
• And that would result in you getting a DUI charge called an “Over 80.”

2/ Over 80 charge is a Criminal Code charge

• If you blow over 80 into an approved breath device, either a breathalyser or an Intoxilyzer, you will be charged with a DUI offence known as an Over 80 charge.
• This Over 80 charge is a charge under the Criminal Code of Canada.
• If you are convicted, at minimum, you will get a fine, a 1-year driving ban and a criminal record.
• And in more serious circumstances, you will face elevated penalties, including jail time.

3/ Getting Over 80 Charge does not mean you are guilty

• The fact that you blew over 80 into a device and the fact that you got an Over 80 Charge under the Criminal Code does not mean you are guilty.
• Here’s how our legal system works in Canada.
• The lawyer representing the government is called the Crown.
• It’s the Crown’s job to prove the Over 80 Charge against you beyond a reasonable doubt.
• And if there are any reasonable doubts about your Over 80 Charge, then your Over 80 charge would go away.

4/ There are defences to an Over 80 Charge

• So raising a reasonable doubt about your Over 80 Charge comes from the defences to an Over Charge.
• And multiple defences can be raised based on your fact situation.
• For example, there may be issues regarding the integrity of the Over 80 reading.  
• These issues may be related to the device’s reliability or the person operating the device.
• Or, if any of your Charter rights were violated, then the Over 80 Charge would be withdrawn, even if the reading was correct.

5/ Don’t plead guilty to “get it over with”

• We know that getting an Over 80 charge is stressful.
• We get it.
• Many clients have told us that they want to plead guilty so they move on with their lives.
• However, the best advice we give is to take a step back.
• Get all the facts.
• Get all the evidence.  
• And only then make an informed decision.
• Make your decision carefully and not under any pressure.