Reviewed by the DUI Lawyer Toronto defence teamUpdated
An impaired driving charge comes with its own vocabulary. Police, the Crown and the court will use words like disclosure, approved instrument and care or control, often without stopping to explain them. This DUI glossary sets out the terms you are most likely to see in your paperwork and hear in court, in plain language.
How to use this glossary
The terms below are listed in alphabetical order. Each one has a short definition written for people who are not lawyers. You can scroll through the full list, or use your browser's find function to jump straight to a word you saw on a police notice or in a letter from the court.
A few tips as you read:
- Criminal and provincial terms are mixed together. Some words, such as over 80 and refusal, describe criminal offences. Others, such as the ADLS and the warn range, describe Ontario licence consequences that run separately from the criminal case.
- Definitions are general. How a term applies to you depends on the facts of your case and the evidence the Crown discloses.
- This is not legal advice. If a term appears in your documents and you are not sure what it means for you, ask a lawyer.
Where to go next
If you have a specific question, our DUI FAQs answer many of the questions people ask after a charge. To understand the offence you are facing, start with our overview of impaired driving charges in Ontario. If you were charged recently, our step-by-step guide on what to do after a DUI charge explains your first moves.
You can also call DUI Lawyer Toronto at 647-370-5179, any time, for a free and confidential consultation.
- Administrative Driver’s Licence Suspension (ADLS)
- An immediate 90-day licence suspension imposed by police in Ontario when a driver blows over the legal limit, refuses a demand, or is found impaired by a drug evaluation. It is separate from the criminal charge and takes effect before any trial.
- Approved Instrument
- A breath-testing machine approved by the federal government for measuring blood alcohol concentration at the police station. Its readings form the main evidence in most over 80 prosecutions.
- Approved Screening Device (ASD)
- The handheld roadside device police use to screen breath for alcohol. A "fail" result usually gives police grounds to demand a breath test on an approved instrument.
- Back on Track
- Ontario’s mandatory remedial program for drivers convicted of impaired driving offences or who receive certain roadside suspensions. It includes an assessment, education or treatment, and a follow-up interview, and must be completed before a licence is reinstated.
- Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)
- The amount of alcohol in a person’s blood, measured in milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The criminal limit in Canada is 80 mg/100 mL, often written as 0.08.
- Care or Control
- Being in a position to operate a vehicle, such as sitting in the driver’s seat with access to the keys, even if the vehicle is not moving. A person can be charged with an impaired driving offence based on care or control.
- Charter Application
- A motion asking the court to find that police violated a right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, such as the right to counsel, and to exclude evidence or stay the charge as a remedy.
- Crown Attorney
- The prosecutor who represents the government in a criminal case and decides whether to proceed with, reduce or withdraw a charge.
- Disclosure
- The evidence the Crown must provide to the defence, including police notes, video, breath test records and instrument maintenance logs. Reviewing disclosure is the first step in building a defence.
- Drug Recognition Evaluation (DRE)
- A structured evaluation by a specially trained officer to decide whether a driver is impaired by a drug. It can lead to a demand for a blood, urine or oral fluid sample.
- Ignition Interlock
- A breath-testing device connected to a vehicle’s ignition that prevents the engine from starting if alcohol is detected. Ontario may require one as a condition of licence reinstatement after an impaired driving conviction.
- Impaired Operation
- Operating a conveyance while your ability to do so is impaired to any degree by alcohol, a drug, or both. It is an offence under section 320.14(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.
- Mandatory Alcohol Screening
- Police authority, in force since December 2018, to demand a roadside breath sample from any driver who has been lawfully stopped, without needing a suspicion that the driver has been drinking.
- Mandatory Minimum Penalty
- The lowest sentence a judge is allowed to impose for a conviction. For impaired driving offences, the Criminal Code sets minimum fines for a first offence and minimum jail terms for repeat offences.
- Over 80
- Having a blood alcohol concentration of 80 mg of alcohol per 100 mL of blood or more within two hours of driving. It is an offence under section 320.14(1)(b) of the Criminal Code, separate from impaired operation.
- Refusal
- Failing or refusing, without a reasonable excuse, to comply with a lawful demand for a breath, blood or drug evaluation sample. It is an offence under section 320.15 of the Criminal Code and is punished at least as seriously as over 80.
- RIDE Program
- Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere: police check stops where drivers are stopped to screen for alcohol and drugs. RIDE stops are a common starting point for DUI investigations in Ontario.
- Stay of Proceedings
- A court order that halts a prosecution, often ordered where a Charter right has been seriously breached or where a case has taken unreasonably long to reach trial.
- Warn Range
- A blood alcohol concentration from 50 to 79 mg per 100 mL. In Ontario it triggers a short roadside licence suspension and other provincial penalties, but it is not a criminal offence on its own.
- Withdrawal
- A decision by the Crown to end the prosecution of a charge. A withdrawn charge does not result in a conviction or criminal record.