Starting this weekend, you may see more police road blocks targeting drunk drivers across the province.
ICBC and police are launching their yearly “CounterAttack” summer campaign aimed at combating impaired driving-related crashes.
The company says that while significant progress has been made, the CounterAttack program has been running since 1977.
According to police data, an uptick in impaired-driving-related crashes happens annually.
“Over the summer months every year, impaired driving-related crashes where someone is injured or killed increase by 27 per cent in B.C. The largest increase occurs in Northern B.C. (up 63 per cent) followed by the Southern Interior (up 53 per cent), Vancouver Island (up 21 per cent), and Lower Mainland (up 11 per cent),” said a Thursday release by ICBC.
Shabnem Afzal, ICBC’s director of road safety, says the roadblocks are a reminder to plan ahead for a safe ride home.
“Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can significantly impair your vision, judgment and reaction time. Don’t take a chance and put the safety of others on the road at risk,” said Afzal.
On average, ICBC says, 17 people are killed and 600 people are injured in impaired driving-related crashes in the Lower Mainland every year.