RCMP will be writing up their naughty and nice list

The Sunshine Coast RCMP encourage the public to call 911 to report suspected impaired drivers. Provide police dispatchers with the licence plate, vehicle description and the reason you suspect the driver is impaired.

Expect to see the Sunshine Coast RCMP out in force over this holiday season, ensuring the roads are safe. Police are urging drivers to plan ahead for a safe ride home – arrange for a designated driver, take a taxi, use transit or call a sober friend for a ride.
During last years holiday season, the Sunshine Coast RCMP removed 24 impaired drivers from the roadway.
Impaired drivers face immediate penalties, which can include vehicle impoundment, licence suspension and fines and fees ranging from $600 to $4000. It’s important to know that refusing to blow results in the same consequences as impaired driving, including having the interlock device installed on the vehicle, and taking the expensive Responsible Driver Program.
The province estimates 104 lives have been saved since the immediate roadside prohibition (IRP) system took effect in September 2010.
That’s based on a drop from an average of 114 impaired fatalities prior to the new rules to 66 in the first full year of the IRP program and 58 in the second year.
Provincial government officials say the initiative has drastically changed British Columbian attitudes to drinking and getting behind the wheel.
“As you drive home late at night, the car coming toward you is far less likely to be piloted by an impaired driver than at any time in recent years,” Justice Minister Shirley Bond said. She said BC is so far averaging a 46 per cent drop in drunk driving fatalities — better than a target of 35 per cent set in 2010 in honour of impaired driving victim Alexa Middelaer.
The new approach has also meant a major shift away from criminal prosecution of suspected impaired drivers, which consumes much police investigation and court time.
A June survey of drivers in five communities (Vancouver, Abbotsford, Kelowna, Prince George and Saanich) found the lowest levels of drinking and driving ever recorded in a series of similar surveys dating back to 1995.
Nearly 60 per cent fewer drivers who agreed to be tested for the survey were at or over the 0.08 criminal blood-alcohol level than in past years, and there was a 44 per cent drop in those who tested in the warn range above 0.05.
Drivers aged 25 to 54 were most likely to say their behaviour has changed due to the new sanctions and those under 25 were most likely to say they never drink and drive.
The tests found no drivers aged 16 to 18 who had been drinking, which is thought to be a benefit of BC’s graduated licensing system that restricts novice and learners to a zero blood alcohol content.
The Sunshine Coast RCMP encourages the public to call 911 to report suspected impaired drivers. Provide police dispatchers with the licence plate, vehicle description and the reason you suspect the driver is impaired.
Submitted by Cst. Ashley Taylor,
Sunshine Coast RCMP