The Officer in Charge for the BC RCMP Traffic Services Department is asking drivers to ensure that they have a plan to get home this holiday season if they are impaired

Superintendent Holly Turton says people can expect to see a heightened police presence on provincial highways targeting impaired drivers.

“Police will be using every resource at their disposal to remove impaired drivers from the road including the use of Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and specially trained Drug Recognition Experts,” she said. “Police are also fully prepared to enforce the federal Cannabis Act and BC’s Cannabis Control and Licensing Act.”

Turton says an average of 67 people die each year in collisions where alcohol, drugs or medication is involved. Data from ICBC shows that more than half of impaired driving related crashes – 56 per cent of the total – happen on weekends.

“It makes impaired driving fatalities one of the leading causes of death on our provincial roadways,” Turton said. “Impaired driving, defined as driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, is entirely preventable yet it continues to happen with devastating consequences.”

ICBC says on average 23 people on average are killed by an impaired driver in the Southern Interior each year. In both the Lower Mainland and North Central B.C. an average of 17 people are killed each year, while on Vancouver Island that number is 11 drivers.

“Poor decisions can have tragic consequences for you and others,” noted Turton. “By finding alternative ways home such as public transit, taxi, or a designated driver, you can ensure that you, and others sharing the road with you, get to their destination safely.”

Back in October, Operation Red Nose announced it would not be running its safe-ride service in Kamloops this December because of COVID-19.