Procedures adjusted for impaired driving suspensions

Release

Department of Justice and Public Safety

October 10, 2025

FREDERICTON (GNB) – The government has made adjustments to how immediate roadside licence suspensions are handled following a Sept. 22 court decision that clarified the application of new impaired driving legislation.

Guidelines have been implemented to ensure all documents submitted by peace officers are correctly executed, as required under the legislation.

Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin said this will ensure drivers receive a fair and transparent process while maintaining the government’s commitment to keeping impaired drivers off the road.

“We thank the court for clarifying the law,” said Gauvin. “Police and the Registrar of Motor Vehicles have already applied the lessons from the decision to strengthen fairness in the review process while continuing to protect the public.”

As part of the response, the registrar has overturned several suspensions that were under appeal and, since Sept. 22, has been working to return driver’s licences to suspended drivers. New cases will be processed under the revised procedures.

The amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act, which came into effect in January, allow peace officers to immediately suspend the licence of a driver who fails a roadside screening test. The process gives officers an alternative to laying a criminal charge while helping keep impaired drivers off the road.

“The objective has always been to reduce impaired driving and ease pressure on the courts,” said Gauvin. “That objective is working, with 596 roadside suspensions issued since Jan. 1 and those cases no longer proceeding through the courts.”

Gauvin said the government will continue to monitor the program and make any further improvements needed to ensure it remains fair and effective.

 

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Laws and safety