The annual Counterattack campaign kicked off in Langley on Friday (Dec. 2) with Superintendent Norm Gaumont, head of RCMP Traffic Services in the Lower Mainland, warning impaired drivers still face criminal penalties, even though a portion of the new drinking and driving laws have just been struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.
“Should someone fall within the ‘warn range’ and blow between .06-08, they still face being prohibited from driving for three, seven or 30 days, and their car may be impounded,” Gaumont said.
“And for those who fail or refuse the roadside screening device, they will face a 24-hour impoundment of their vehicle, and if the evidence supports it, we will proceed with criminal charges.”
The Counterattack campaign focused on 216 Street and Glover Road in Milner, catching motorists unaware in the portion of the road check that focused on drivers who used cell phones, and vehicle occupants who failed to use their seat belts. At first glance, the long line of vehicles looked like a typical Friday afternoon rush hour traffic jam, but unknown to the motorists, unmarked police cars and officers using telescopes were waiting to pull over offending drivers just east of the Esso gas station.
Officers from Langley RCMP’s traffic section and the Langley-based Integrated Road Safety Unit handed out scores of tickets.
On the west side of Glover Road, a second road block was set up focusing on impaired drivers or those who were carrying illegal drugs.
Several members of families who lost loved ones to drunk drivers attended the Counterattack launch.
“No family should have to go through that,” said Markita Kaulius, whose daughter Kassandra was killed in May by an alleged drunk driver.
“Everyone deserves to be able to come home to their loved ones safely, and that’s what I encourage drivers to think about this holiday season.”
Kaulius has founded “Families for Justice,” a group of families who have lost loved ones to impaired or aggressive drivers.
To date in 2011, there have been 16 fatalities relating to drinking and driving on roads policed by the RCMP in the Lower Mainland.
That’s a drop of about 50 per cent from the previous year.
Last year in the Lower Mainland, RCMP handed out prohibitions, suspensions or forwarded charges on 427 drivers suspected of drinking, from Dec. 1-Jan 3. Another 3,229 tickets were handed out for speeding, seatbelt infractions, distracted driving and intersection infractions, such as failing to stop.
Police say that they will be targeting the same offences this year.
