CounterAttack impaired driving road checks start this week across BC for holiday season

BC RCMP is cracking down on impaired driving this holiday season, launching the province-wide, month-long CounterAttack campaign to increase enforcement efforts aimed at stopping impaired drivers.

Municipal police detachments and Traffic Services Units across the province will be launching road checks on various dates throughout the month.

December is CounterAttack Impaired Driving Month in B.C., and the RCMP Traffic Services is asking everyone to drive safely this holiday season and follow the direction of officers at all check-stops during the month of December and into the new year.

“Poor decisions can have tragic consequences for you and others,” said Superintendent Holly Turton, the officer in charge of BC RCMP Traffic Services, in a press release. “Please make alternate arrangements if you plan to consume anything that impairs your ability to drive.”

Alternate arrangements include public transit, taxi or a designated driver. Making choices like these, Turton added, ensures you and others sharing the road with you get to their destination safely.

“If you do drive,” she said, “please make it a habit to drive sober every time you get behind the wheel.”

READ MORE: Police will be out in full force New Year’s Eve but there are options to get home safely (2019)

An average of 67 people die in B.C. each year because of impaired driving, according to ICBC. The highest number is in the Southern Interior, where an average of 23 people are killed by drivers impaired by alcohol, drugs or medication. On Vancouver Island, that number is 11.

Statistics from ICBC show an average of 17 people die annually because of impaired driving across north-central B.C. and on the lower mainland.

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