Road checks launch
With the arrival of the holiday season and its festivities, so too comes an increase in police checks on Powell River’s roads.
Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC) and the provincial government launched their annual CounterAttack program Friday, November 28.
The program is designed to take drunk drivers off the road. Police are urging drivers to be proactive and plan ahead for a safe ride home if their holiday festivities include alcohol.
For more than 35 years the program has been the cornerstone of the province’s impaired driving enforcement strategy, said Suzanne Anton, attorney general and minister of justice. It has helped to reduce the amount of alcohol-related accidents to record lows. She also attributed the reduction to BC’s Immediate Roadside Prohibition program which slaps impaired drivers with a variety of large fines and driving restrictions.
“CounterAttack remains about preserving and building on these vital public safety gains,” said Anton in an ICBC media release.
While attitudes toward drinking and driving has changed considerably over the years, an average of 13 people are still killed in crashes involved impaired drivers on Vancouver Island every year.
“Getting home safely should be part of everyone’s holiday planning but the reality is that impaired driving remains a leading cause of car crash fatalities in BC,” said Todd Stone, minister of transportation and infrastructure. “Do your part this Christmas season and look out for family and friends—take a stand and don’t let them get behind the wheel impaired.”
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