Over 250 impaired drivers pulled from B.C. highways in December campaign

VANCOUVER — BC Highway Patrol officers removed 267 impaired drivers from provincial roadways during the Winter Impaired Driving Campaign in December 2024, averaging one infraction every three hours throughout the month.

The campaign, part of National Impaired Driving Prevention Month, underscores the need for strong enforcement, said Superintendent Mike Coyle, Acting Officer in Charge of BC Highway Patrol. “Education is not enough for people who choose to drive while impaired,” Coyle said. “Nobody is surprised when they fail a roadside screening device and their vehicle is towed. Enforcement is a necessary follow-up to education.”

Prohibitions were issued across all five BC Highway Patrol regions:

• Lower Mainland (Pemberton to Fraser Valley): 45 prohibitions
• South East Central (Vernon, Kelowna, Kamloops, and Clearwater): 81 prohibitions
• North (100 Mile House and north): 52 prohibitions
• Vancouver Island: 53 prohibitions
• South East Kootenay (Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Grand Forks, to Alberta): 36 prohibitions