Under the Driver Improvement Program, accumulating penalty points can lead to a suspension of your driver’s licence.
Points threshold and consequences:
| Driver Licence Class | Points | Consequences |
| Learners Driver (L or N) | 4 | Warning letter |
| 6 | Possible licence prohibition for up to six months | |
| Full Drivers Licence | 9 | Warning letter |
| 15 | Possible licence prohibition for up to six months |
A suspension and a prohibition are different. A suspension happens by the operation of law, while a prohibition is discretionary and can be appealed. You cannot appeal a licence suspension in B.C. If your licence is suspended, you must wait until your suspension is over and pay any fees or fines you owe to ICBC or the court before you can apply to get your licence back.
You may also be required to complete the RDP program required by RoadSafetyBC.
How many points do you get before losing your licence?
If you have a class 5 license and you acquire between 9 and 14 penalty points in a two-year period, you may receive a warning letter from the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (“Superintendent of Motor Vehicles”). You may also receive a driving prohibition on the basis of a pattern of similar conduct or on the accumulation of two or more high risk offences, or a high risk offence in combination with other offences.
As a Class 7N driver, four or more points will trigger a driving prohibition.
If you acquire more points during this period, the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles will determine if a driving ban is in the public interest. Under section 93 of the MVA, the Superintendent must be satisfied that the driver poses an immediate risk to public safety. The Superintendent must consider a list of criteria when determining if an intervention is appropriate. This criterion is not exhaustive.
You can also receive a driving prohibition on the basis of a high-risk driving incident report sent by police to RoadSafetyBC. These prohibitions typically start at three months and can go up from there. They depend on a specific report from the police about your driving behaviour. You can receive one of these prohibitions simply for an allegation, even if it has not been proven in court.
The criteria for a three month or more prohibition includes:
Criteria
Criteria that the Superintendent may consider in determining whether to prohibit a person from driving a motor vehicle under section 93(1)(c) of the Motor Vehicle Act:
- The police have identified the driver.
- The police have served any violation tickets and/or have recommended, or intend to recommend, that the driver be charged with any Motor Vehicle Act or Criminal Code offences.
- There has not been a previous intervention for the incident under section 93(1)(a) of the Motor Vehicle Act.
- The incident demonstrated an immediate risk to public safety, which may include but is not limited to:
- The risk was foreseeable to a reasonable person; and,
- The details of the incident increased the risk to public safety; or,
- The number of specific actions and decisions made by the driver within the same incident increased the risk to public safety.
- Criteria that the Superintendent may consider in determining the length of any intervention related to a High-Risk Driving Incident Report:
- The details of the incident increased the risk to public safety, which may include but are not limited to:
- Location;
- Weather;
- Traffic and pedestrian conditions; and,
- Any further details or evidence in the High-Risk Driving Incident Report.
- Other factors increased the risk to public safety, which may include but are not limited to:
- Alcohol;
- Drugs;
- Speed;
- Licensing status;
- Passengers (including minors); and,
- Property damage, personal injury and/or fatality, or the significant likelihood of property damage, personal injury and/or fatality.
- Specifics of the driving record, which may include but are not limited to:
- Multiple prior convictions;
- Prior motor vehicle-related Criminal Code convictions and/or Motor Vehicle Act convictions for high risk driving offences; and,
- Previous interventions under section 93 of the Motor Vehicle Act and the length of the time between those interventions.
The length of the prohibition is at the Superintendent’s discretion and the individual circumstances in each case.
If the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles determines if a driving ban is in the public interest, ICBC will issue a Notice of Intent to Prohibit (“NOI”) in the mail.
The length of the driving prohibition varies depending on the experience of the driver. For instance, if you are a learner or novice driver, this limit is much shorter. If you are a learner or novice driver, you could receive a driving licence suspension if you accumulate between 4 to 6 points in a two-year period.
You may lose your licence entirely, if your driving violation falls within the Criminal Code of Canada, or if it is a high risk offence.
How do I know if I will get suspended for having too many points on my record?
Drivers can monitor their points and driving record to assess their risk of suspension under the Driver Improvement Program.
Monitoring your records:
- Requesting records: You can request a copy of your driving record from ICBC. This will contain a record of your basic driving history and any commercial vehicle related convictions in the last five years.
- Stay informed: You can read up on the points associated with different traffic violations and understand the thresholds which trigger warnings and prohibitions. The full list of offences can be found on the ICBC website: https://www.icbc.com/driver-licensing/tickets/fines-points-offences.
Offence Letters
Each year, ICBC will look at the total number of points you receive during a twelve-month “assessment period.” Drivers will receive an offence letter from ICBC after they have reached a certain point threshold. These thresholds are detailed in RoadSafetyBC “Driver Improvement Program Policies and Guidelines.” (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/driving-and-transportation/driving/roadsafetybc/high-risk/street-racing/driver-improvement-policies-guidelines.pdf, ) In this letter, ICBC will advise you that your driving record is being monitored. This letter will also warn you that if you incur further driving offences, you may be contacted by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles.
Warning Letters
ICBC also issues warning letters. This letter will let you know that your driving records are being monitored. They will also encourage you to improve your driving behaviour by highlighting the consequences of high-risk driving.
