Thinking about driving drunk or high this party season? It's now even more likely you'll lose your licence

It's the time of year for extra socializing and celebrating, but police are reminding revellers to play it safe when it comes to getting around or risk facing a range of penaltiesfor impaired driving.

• Holiday road checks for impaired driving happening acrossB.C.

Delta Police Chief Neil Dubord, who is chair of the traffic safety committee with the British Columbia Association of Chiefs of Police, reviewed for CBC News what happens if you are pulled over by a police officer who suspects you may be driving after drinking or doing drugs.

"It's still a significant problem on our roadway," he said. ICBC stats show, on average each year, that 65 people die in fatal crashes where impairment was a contributing factor.

This month, police across Canada gained increased powers to keep impaired drivers whether from alcohol or drugs off roads.

• Provincial overview:Alcohol and drug related driving prohibitions and suspensions

As of Dec. 18, police candemand a breathalyzer test from any driver pulled over for violating traffic laws or at a check stop thanks to Bill C-46.

Under the old law, officers had to have reasonable suspicion a driver had alcohol in their bodyto demand a breathalyzer test.

• New law to help police detect impaired driving

If the device reads WARN, that means a driver's breath contains a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of not less that 0.05. Police can seize your driver's licence and issue a driving prohibition from three to 30 days.

If thebreathalyzerindicates a FAIL, it meansyou have a BAC of not less than 0.08, which will result in a driving prohibition for 90 days and potentially criminal charges for impaired driving.

Dubord, who's been a police officer for 35 years,says having no barrier to requesting a breathalyzer testis just the latesttool for enforcement againstimpaired drivingthat police have.

"So even if we didn't smell anything, we didn't have the bloodshot eyes, we didn't have slurred speech, we didn't have [the] sort of wobbly stance,we can still ask for a roadside sample," he said.

• B.C. Supreme Court upholds roadside testing to help curb impaired driving
• Drunk driving to be largely decriminalized in Alberta in 2018

But Dubord says that perhaps the most useful tool police in B.C. have to get impaired drivers off roads is their ability, under provincial legislation,to confiscate driver's licences at the roadside without a breath test.

Laws for roadside prohibitions appeared in 2011 and have been amended several times since.

If police have reasonable grounds to believe that your driving ability is affected by alcohol and/or drugs and you were in control of a vehicle, they can confiscate your licence for a 24-hour period on the spot.

Dubordsays using provincial legislation, rather than the criminal code, allows police to have more discretion at the roadside.

"We're much better off to be able to take someone's licence away for a 24-hour period ortheir car away for a 24-hour period and prevent an accident because ultimately, that's what we're looking for," he said.