Skip to main content

Police cracking down on impaired driving this holiday season on Vancouver Island

Police in B.C.'s capital region say they have seen a dramatic increase in impaired driving in recent months. Ahead of the holiday season, officers are planning to ramp up their counterattack. (CTV News) Police in B.C.'s capital region say they have seen a dramatic increase in impaired driving in recent months. Ahead of the holiday season, officers are planning to ramp up their counterattack. (CTV News)
Share

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

N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49

A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.

Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks

Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.

Stay Connected