BCHP officers are targeting high-risk drivers throughout the month of May. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW staff

Increased enforcement

High-risk driving campaign underway throughout B.C. highways

May 10, 2025 | 8:38 AM

NANAIMO — Additional police resources are joining more people on B.C.’s highways with the busy summer driving season fast-approaching.

May is High-Risk Driving and Motorcycle Awareness Month in B.C., where impaired, dangerous, distracted, unrestrained drivers, as well as motorcycle safety are on the menu for police.

Referencing a pair of high-profile regional cases recently, Cpl. Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol (BCHP) said excessive speeding will continue to be a priority.

“Any action you try to take will almost certainly be catastrophic, you’ll role the vehicle, or you’ll be in a fatal collision and that’s obviously what we’re trying to prevent here with high-risk driving month,” McLaughlin told NanaimoNewsNOW.

A pair of 31-year-old men were pulled over in April, who were fined and had their vehicles impounded for excessive speeding in the Nanaimo area.

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Police say one of the speeders was also impaired, while the other was clocked going 218 kilometers an hour, the fastest detected so far this year on Vancouver Island.

While Cpl. McLaughlin understands the temptation to drive a little faster this time of year, people need to be cautious.

“The roads are much clearer, the days are longer, many of us feel like we’ve been couped up all winter and that temptation to speed is right there.”

BCHP units are based throughout the province, including Parksville, Duncan, Victoria and Campbell River.

According to ICBC data, a five-year average of 14 people die annually on Vancouver Island roads (117 province-wide) from high-risk driving involving speed, impairment and distraction.

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