The Administrative Driving Prohibition (ADP) program was established in 1997, to remove alcohol-affected drivers from the road for 90 days.

• Police use the ADP as a supplementary tool while pursuing criminal charges for impaired operation of a motor vehicle. The ADP program uses the same processes and requirements set out by the Criminal Code.
• B.C. is expanding the ADP program to include drug-affected driving. As of July 15, 2019, police officers will be able to serve one of three new ADPs, when:
  • a person has a blood drug concentration equal to, or exceeding, the amount prescribed for that drug within two hours of operating a motor vehicle;
  • a person has a combined blood alcohol concentration and blood drug concentration equal to, or exceeding, the amount prescribed in instances where alcohol and that drug are combined, within two hours of operating a motor vehicle; or
  • a person operates a motor vehicle while their ability to do so is impaired by a drug or a combination of alcohol and a drug, as determined by an evaluation by a drug recognition expert.
• Police will continue to be able to serve an ADP in situations where a person fails or refuses to comply with a demand under the Criminal Code related to operating a motor vehicle.
• Before July 15, 2019, a driving prohibition would start 21 days after the individual was served with an ADP. The new in-effect date depends on the type of ADP served for alcohol- or drug-affected driving:
  • Drivers served with an ADP based on a breath sample or failure or refusal to comply with a demand are prohibited immediately from driving.
  • Upon receiving an ADP based on the analysis of blood or another bodily substance sample, drivers will receive a seven-day temporary driver’s licence.
• Blood or bodily substance samples must be sent to a laboratory for analysis. This analysis takes time and, consequently, a prohibition may be served some time after the date of the incident. The seven-day temporary licence is intended to give people the opportunity to arrange alternative forms of transportation before their prohibition begins. 
• Anyone who receives an alcohol- or drug-related ADP can apply to the superintendent of motor vehicles for a review of their prohibition, on limited grounds.

Learn More:

For more information about the new ADPs for drug-affected driving, and how to apply for a review of a prohibition, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/driving-prohibitions-suspensions/prohibitions-and-suspensions/alcohol-and-drug-related-suspensions