SECTION 8 - BREATH TESTS NOT 'AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE' WHERE OFFICERS HAD VEHICLE TOWED

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal (in a split decision) has restored the acquittal of a driver who had his vehicle towed prior to the officers taking him for breath samples.  The dissenting judgment concluded that "there was a reasonable explanation for the delay based on a lawful seizure of the vehicle.  The delay of 35 minutes was not unreasonable in itself.  The tests were taken within a reasonably prompt time under the circumstances." The case lists a number of earlier cases which show that waiting for a tow truck does not necessarily create a situation where the sample is not taken as soon as practicable. R. v. Wetzel, 2013 SKCA 143