Corporal Ryan Fehler from the Nakusp RCMP say officers were pleased to see many holiday party-goers using designated drivers over the holidays.
“There were lots of designated drivers,” Fehler noted, giving kudos to people for planning ahead. “It was great.”
Twelve checkstops were held over the winter holiday period, with four drivers pulled from behind the wheel with 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibitions (IRP). One driver found with a higher blood alcohol than is the legal limit was issued a three-day IRP, and a sixth was given a 24-hour IRP because their ability to drive had been affected by drink.
In the course of vehicle checks, six small amounts of pot or hash were seized, and two more drivers were handed driving prohibitions for driving while impaired.
“For the most part, people were pretty good,” said Fehler.
Overall, numbers of drivers being taken off the roads for impaired driving are down in the province. According to preliminary numbers, police laid 961 impaired related charges from Dec. 2, 2012 to Jan. 2, 2013, compare to 1434 for the same period last year.
Distracted and dangerous driving is on the radar too. More than 1,419 people got ticketed for use of an electronic device while driving, and 213 drivers were caught excessive speeding (doing 40 km/hour or more over the posted limit.)
The Nakusp RCMP say they will continue to hold checkstops throughout the year, and encourage people to have a designated driver or call a friend or family for a ride if in doubt.
