This is a very significant legislative change that applies to many individuals whose primary, if not the only,
reason to challenge a charge of
impaired driving is because their driver's license is not an optional feature; it is a necessity to their work, their
social commitments and their family commitments.
More recently, (YJCEA 1999), s 33A (as amended by s 47 of the Police and Justice Act 2006) allows an accused whose ability to participate effectively as a witness in court was compromised by
reason of mental disorder,
impaired intellectual ability or
social functioning to give evidence by video link but these provisions did not apply at the time of the defendant's trial.