Police cracking down on impaired driving this holiday season on Vancouver Island
Police across the country will be ramping up impaired driving enforcement ahead of the holiday season, and Vancouver Island is no exception.
RCMP are kicking off their "Winter CounterAttack" campaign, which means more police checks will be set up to monitor for impaired driving.
Saturday, Dec. 4, also marks "National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day" in Canada.
"For 24 hours, police officers from as far away as Bonavista, Newfoundland, to Ahousaht, on British Columbia’s rugged West Coast, are gearing up with a singular task – to stop anyone who chooses to drive while impaired by drugs and/or alcohol," said Nanaimo RCMP in a statement Friday.
BC Highway Patrol officers will also be setting up road checks across B.C., including on Vancouver Island, ranging from the North Island to Greater Victoria.
According to ICBC, an average of 65 people die in impaired driving-related car crashes in B.C. each year.
On Vancouver Island, 11 people are killed and 320 people are injured in roughly 600 impaired driving-related crashes annually.
"We want everyone to have a great evening but more importantly, we want everyone to arrive home safely," said Const. Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
"Don’t allow yourself to become a statistic. Make good choices," he said.
Nanaimo RCMP say they've also partnered with McDonalds restaurants this year to support sober and designated drivers.
Mounties will be handing out some free McDonald's coffee coupons to drivers at road checks on Saturday.
Instead of driving impaired, Mounties suggest arranging a ride in advance, taking a taxi, car pooling, or walking.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.