Hundreds of impaired drivers, 626 in total, were taken off the road this summer during BC’s Highway Patrol Summer Impaired Driving Campaign.
Considering the smaller population, Northern B.C. had the highest total of driving prohibitions, criminal charges and drug prohibitions, according to highway patrol.
“This year’s Summer Impaired Driving Campaign is a graphic illustration of why we all need to do better staying sober while driving,” Supt. Mike Coyle, operations officer for BC Highway Patrol said in a statement.
“Impaired driving is the leading cause of criminal death in B.C.. It’s simply unacceptable to think that it’s OK to drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs.”
From June 15 to Aug. 31, the number of impaired drivers that were taken off the roads includes:
- Northern B.C.: 146 (11 were detected impaired by drugs)
- Metro Vancouver, Sea to Sky, and eastern Fraser Valley: 150
- Vancouver Island: 131 (15 were detected impaired by drugs)
- Central BC: 111
- Kootenay region: 88 (31 were detected impaired by drugs)
In August, police busted 83 people for drug-impaired driving and issued more than 800 tickets during road checks targeting drivers coming and going from a popular electronic music festival in the Kootenays.
The BC Highway Patrol set up checkpoints in the mountain passes surrounding Salmo throughout the Shambhala festival, between July 21 and July 25.
As festival-goers arrived, police handed out more than 700 tickets, including 360 for speeding, nine for excessive speeding, 11 for driving without insurance and 11 for unsafe or mechanically unsound vehicles.
“Drug-impaired driving is a particular issue in the Kootenays, though it’s an increasing problem everywhere with serious and fatal collisions,” Coyle added. “We need people, especially in rural areas of B.C., to be more serious about staying sober.”
In August, dozens of drivers were busted leaving a Nickelback concert on Vancouver Island.
Throughout the province, BC Highway Patrol uses Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS), which allows police officers to demand an immediate breath sample, under section 320.27(2) of the Canadian Criminal Code, from any driver who is lawfully stopped.
Drivers who refuse the breath demand are committing a criminal offence that leads to penalties similar to impaired driving charges.
On Aug. 1 on Highway 93 in Kootenay National Park, a green Jaguar was clocked doing 153 km/h in a 90 km/h zone.
Police said the driver was pulled over and blew a warning during the MAS.
He then received a three-day driving suspension, an excessive speeding ticket under section 148(1) of the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) for a fine of $368, a seven-day vehicle impound at his expense and at least three years of high-risk driving premiums that will push the total cost of fines and fees to almost $2,500.
According to BC Highway Patrol, speeding and impaired driving are consistently two of the three most significant contributors to fatal collisions in B.C., with distracted driving being the third.