Despite all the education to stop drinking and driving, people are still being arrested in Salmon Arm for the offence.
Sgt. Scott Lachapelle of Salmon Arm RCMP provided statistics to Salmon Arm council on July 12 covering the second quarter of the year.
From April through June 2021, he said more than 135 documented traffic stops were done, which included taking 33 impaired and prohibited drivers off the road.
“It just amazes me that people still drink and drive after all the information that’s been provided,” remarked Mayor Alan Harrison.
Lachapelle, who was presenting a report prepared by Staff Sgt. Scott West, said the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement unit as well as Highway Patrol have been in Salmon Arm, ticketing vehicles as well as monitoring the use of engine brakes coming into town from the east.
Harrison thanked police, referring specifically to the decrease in the use of engine brakes coming down the hill.
“I have had some residents who live in that bowl at the bottom who do feel there has been some improvement,” he said.
Lachapelle said there were 23 collisions with damage over $10,000 or with injuries reported in Salmon Arm in the second quarter of 2021, up from 16 during the same period in 2020.
The good news, he said, is there were no fatal collisions within city boundaries.
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