Nanaimo motorists were on good behaviour during a recent impaired driving blitz. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

holiday check stops

Nanaimo motorists shine during province-wide crackdown

Dec 11, 2024 | 1:15 PM

NANAIMO — Over 200 impaired drivers were taken off B.C. roads recently, part of the BC Highway Patrol’s Light Up the Province initiative.

Held this past Saturday, Dec. 7, over 400 police officers around the province set up check stops looking for impaired drivers and other vehicle infractions.

Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with the BC Highway Patrol said they’re very pleased with how their initiative played out, as they were able to inspect more than 43,000 vehicles that day, starting in the evening until the early morning.

“We had more than 220 drivers who were impaired who were taken off our roads. That includes everything from impaired by drugs to alcohol, 24-hour suspensions right up to the 90-day impound that we get now with our modern provincial laws.”

Nanaimo drivers only played a small part in that total, with local Mounties reporting only one 90-day impound and one 24-hour suspension were issued to mid-Island drivers for impaired driving over six hours for a compliance rate of 99 per cent.

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Cpl McLaughlin said they also reported more than 280 violation tickets from the event, with more coming in every day as officers sift through paperwork.

He said while one impaired driver on our roads is too much, removing over 200 in one evening is unusual, as they rarely have such a large amount of officers working together province-wide in a single initiative.

“We wish we would do it more. Certainly, 220 is a lot but when you consider the massive effort that we put into making sure our roads are safe, perhaps it was expected.”

He said Light Up the Province is only the start of their holiday season campaign to discourage impaired people from getting behind the wheel, as well as ensuring vehicles are in safe and proper working condition.

The campaign also coincided with the three Taylor Swift concerts taking place in Vancouver that weekend, and McLaughlin said people were in pretty good moods throughout the night.

“We had a lot of them that were exchanging bracelets with our officers…We like to say with these check stops, they are a little bit of an inconvenience, but they are most inconvenient for impaired drivers. Everybody else tends to appreciate that the roads need to be kept safe.”

— with files from Jon De Roo/97.3 FM The Eagle

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNOW