Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC) and the RCMP kicked off their annual December CounterAttack campaign this week and are reminding drivers to plan ahead for a ride home if they’ve been drinking.
Additional specialized traffic enforcement units from Vancouver Island will assist Powell River RCMP officers with carrying out the additional roadblocks and vehicle checks.
Constable Tim Kenning of the Powell River detachment said the additional enforcement campaign continues to make the streets safer during the holidays.
“[Impaired driving] is the number one criminal cause of death,” said Kenning.
During the month of December 2012, approximately 20 people were given immediate roadside prohibitions in the local campaign, Kenning said, with the majority of those drivers losing their driver’s licence for 90 days and their vehicle for 30 days.
“For us it’s a beautiful tool,” he said. “It has an immediate punishment, unlike the criminal code where a lot of time had to pass before a punishment was implemented.”
He estimates that between January to November 2013, close to 120 impaired drivers were given the roadside prohibitions.
While attitudes toward drinking and driving have changed considerably over the years, according to ICBC statistics, an average of 95 lives are still lost each year in BC.
“We’ve come a long way since 1976, the year before CounterAttack road checks started, when more than 300 people were killed in impaired-related crashes each year in our province,” said Suzanne Anton, BC attorney general and minister of justice. “Despite the progress, the numbers are far too high, which is why we’re committed to reducing crashes involving drugs and alcohol and will continue to support enhanced enforcement.”
Kenning said that despite the fact Operation Red Nose, a charity designated-driver program, is not active in Powell River, local companies and businesses are making arrangements, either through taxi or sober friends, for the safe return of their employees after holiday festivities.
He added, though, that setting up a local Operation Red Nose, “might be an opportunity.”
