VANCOUVER -- A B.C. RCMP officer handed a woman a 90-day driving prohibition after she failed a roadside sobriety test last week – even though she had been in the passenger seat next to a designated driver.

The incident happened shortly before 11 p.m. last Friday in Nelson, and the car was also impounded for 30 days.

“When I first spoke to my client and she told me what happened, I was in disbelief,” said Vancouver-based criminal lawyer Sarah Leamon. “It just sounded so outrageous to me.”

Leamon says in 10 years of representing people in impaired driving cases, this is the first time she’s seen a passenger slapped with an Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP).

The woman’s 22-year-old son was behind the wheel and her husband was in the back seat when they arrived at a check stop that night.

CTV News has obtained a copy of the RCMP officer’s notes and he clearly indicates that “he could not smell any liquor coming from (the driver’s) breath," and that "his speech and eyes were clear and his movements sharp/normal.”

Leamon was told the son has a Class 7 "N" driver’s licence, which does have restrictions in some cases. But because both passengers were his close family members, he wouldn't have required a supervising driver.

However, the RCMP said the driver only has a Class 7 "L" licence, which is a designation that requires a supervising driver at all times.

“Cst. THERRIEN noted that the said vehicle was small size wise and (the passenger) was within easy reaching distance from the front passenger seat of the steering wheel and other hand vehicle controls in front of the driver’s seat/front dash,” the officer said in his notes on why he decided to test the woman’s sobriety with a roadside screening device.

Leamon says her client is appealing the decision with RoadSafetyBC on the grounds that she was not the driver, or in care or control of the car.

In its news release, RCMP said the decision was made to recommend the cancellation of the IRP and directed further inquiries to RoadSafetyBC.

Leamon says the family was told Friday that they could pick up the impounded vehicle and RCMP confirmed her driving privileges have been restored.

“I think this case sets a very disturbing precedent for people in British Columbia,” said Leamon. “In particular for people who are trying to do the right thing and avoid drinking and driving by arranging a safe and sober ride home well in advance.”

Despite having the IRP cancelled, Leamon says she and her client still plan to file a complaint with the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner.