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Will My Licence Be Suspended?

One of the most common concerns for drivers facing a traffic ticket is whether their driver’s licence will be suspended. The reality is that suspensions and prohibitions are unusual in traffic court itself. Rather, they tend to occur after the fact—when a conviction is recorded on your driving record, and the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles takes action.

Traffic Court and Immediate Suspensions

Unlike criminal driving offences such as impaired driving or dangerous driving, most traffic violations do not result in an immediate driving prohibition at the time of the ticket or conviction. In British Columbia, the courts do not impose licence suspensions as part of the penalty in traffic court. Instead, penalties typically include fines and, in some cases, penalty points.

However, accumulating penalty points or having multiple infractions on your driving record can trigger a review by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, leading to a possible driving prohibition under the Driver Improvement Program (DIP). This program is the primary way in which driving prohibitions arise.

The Driver Improvement Program and Driving Prohibitions

The Driver Improvement Program (DIP) is the system used by the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (OSMV) to review the driving records of individuals who have received multiple tickets or have serious infractions. When a new conviction is added to your driving record, it increases the likelihood that your record will be reviewed for potential intervention.

Once your driving record has been flagged, the next step is typically a Notice of Intent to Prohibit (NOI), which serves as a warning that the OSMV is considering a driving prohibition. This is the birthplace of the driving prohibition—not the traffic court itself.

For drivers with a Class 7 licence, action from the Superintendent is inevitable following a traffic ticket conviction. As a new driver, the threshold for intervention is much lower, and even a single violation can result in a prohibition.

How to Avoid a Driving Prohibition

Because the DIP program operates based on your accumulated driving history, the best way to avoid a suspension or prohibition is to succeed in defending your ticket in traffic court. If you successfully dispute your ticket and avoid a conviction, it will not be added to your driving record, and it will not contribute to a potential driving prohibition.

If you do not succeed in traffic court and are convicted, you are not necessarily out of options. Once you receive a Notice of Intent to Prohibit, you have a short window of time to dispute the prohibition by providing written submissions explaining why you should not be prohibited from driving. In some cases, driving prohibitions can be reduced in length or even cancelled entirely based on your circumstances, such as employment-related driving needs or a significant period of clean driving before the conviction.

Driving prohibitions and suspensions are rarely immediate consequences of receiving a traffic ticket. Instead, they arise later when your driving record is reviewed under the Driver Improvement Program. The best strategy to avoid a driving prohibition is to successfully defend your ticket. If that fails, responding promptly to a Notice of Intent to Prohibit and making a strong case can make a significant difference in protecting your ability to drive. If you were issued a traffic ticket in BC, contact BC Driving Lawyers today for legal advice and representation to help protect your driving privileges. When it comes to your BCDL, we work to keep you on the road.