Provincial Driving Offences (13:VI)

A. Stopping for a Peace Officer

It is an offence for a person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle on a highway to refuse or fail to stop when signalled or asked by a uniformed peace officer (MVA s 73(1)). If asked, the driver must:

• a) provide his or her name and address as well as the name and address of the owner of the vehicle (MVA s 73(2));
• b) produce or exhibit the motor vehicle license plate (MVA s 71); and
• c) produce his or her driver’s license and the motor vehicle liability insurance card or financial responsibility card (MVA s 33(1)).

Under MVA s 70(1)(b), it is an offence to refuse or fail to produce a driver’s license, permit, certificate, or motor vehicle liability insurance card when asked by a peace officer or constable.

B. Driver’s Licenses

It is an offence for an individual to drive or operate a motor vehicle without a valid and subsisting driver’s license or to drive or operate a motor vehicle of a category other than a category designated under the individual’s license (MVA s 24(1)). The license may be subject to any restriction the Superintendent deems necessary for safety reasons (MVA s 25(12)). It is an offence to violate these restrictions (MVA s 5(15)). Failure to satisfy an examiner of competence to drive safely will lead to the suspension or cancellation of the driver’s license by the Superintendent (MVA s 92).

If a driver’s license is lost, a duplicate will be issued. The original, if found, must be surrendered (MVA s 33(3)). A driver must produce his or her license when so asked by a peace officer (MVA s 33). If a driver has a valid license, but is unable to produce it when asked, that person will receive two fines under Schedule 3 of the VTAFR:

• a) failure to produce a driver’s license (MVA s 33(1)) – $56 if paid within 30 days, otherwise $81; and
• b) driving without a valid license (MVA s 24(1)) – $251 if paid within 30 days, otherwise $276.

The fine for driving without a valid license will be dropped if the driver proves he or she had a valid license at that time.

Under the MVA, it is an offence to make a false statement when applying for or renewing a driver’s license (s 69(1)(a)), to give number plates to another person (s 69(1)(b)), or to give your driver’s license to another person (s 69(1)(c)). Under MVA s 70(1)(a), it is an offence to use another’s license or a fictitious or invalid driver’s license. Under s 70(2), any person who commits an offence under s 70(1)(a) is liable for a fine between $100 and $2,000 and/or imprisonment for a period between seven days and six months.

C. Certificate of Insurance

Section 24(3)(a) of the MVA requires that all drivers be insured. The penalty is a fine up to $250 and/or up to three months incarceration (s 24(5)(a)). Section 24(3)(b) states that the motor vehicle must be insured. Failure to comply will result in a fine between $300 and $2,000 and/or imprisonment between seven days and six months (s 24(5)(b)). Furthermore, a driver must produce a valid certificate of insurance when asked by a peace officer (s 33). The penalty for failing to produce a valid insurance certificate is $56 within 30 days, otherwise $81 (VTAFR Schedule 3).

It is an offence to make a false statement when applying for insurance (MVA s 69(1)(a)(iii)), to lend your certificate (s 69(1)(c)), or to use another’s certificate (s 24(6)(iv)) or an invalid or fictitious certificate (s 70(1)(a)). Under MVA s 70(2), you are liable to a fine between $100 and $2,000 and/or imprisonment for a period between seven days and six months for a violation of s 70(1)(a).

MVA s 24(6) also creates offences regarding insurance. It is an offence to show a peace officer or the Superintendent:

• a) a motor vehicle liability insurance card or a financial responsibility card which purports to show that there is a policy of insurance in force when there is not;
• b) a financial responsibility card purporting to show that a person is, at that time, maintaining in effect proof of financial responsibility when he or she is not; or
• c) a motor vehicle liability insurance card or a financial responsibility card that does not apply to the vehicle which the holder is driving.

Under s 24(6)(b) of the MVA, it is an offence to give or loan a motor vehicle liability insurance card or a financial responsibility card to a person not entitled to it. Section 24(6)(c) states that failure to deliver to the Superintendent a financial responsibility card for cancellation is an offence.

© Copyright 2023, The Greater Vancouver Law Students' Legal Advice Society.