THE vast majority of drivers came and went from their Victoria Day long weekend revelry safely and legally, but some "disconcerting" stats have turned up in the annual traffic safety blitz.
West Vancouver police, along with the integrated road safety unit, Lower Mainland RCMP traffic services and helicopter, and Sea to Sky RCMP conducted the joint campaign to get drunks and leadfoots off the road.
Between Thursday evening and Monday afternoon from West Vancouver to Pemberton, four drivers had their licences seized for 90 days and vehicles impounded for 30 after failing roadside breathalyzers. Eight drivers were given three-day driving prohibitions for blowing into the "warn" threshold. Six drivers were served 24-hour prohibitions for alcohol and two drivers were given 24-hour driving prohibitions for drug impairment.
However, it was the time of day that some of the impaired driving offences happened that officers found troubling. West Vancouver police set up two mid-day roadblocks to check for tipsy drivers on Sunday and Monday.
"In the one case, the guy was at a fail level on a roadside screening and that's a 90-day driving prohibition and a 30-day impound and that's in the middle of the day on the long weekend. . . . Not only is he not driving to work on Tuesday, he's not driving to work for the next 90 days. That's a real life disruption," said Const. Jeff Palmer, West Vancouver police spokesman.
In most of the cases, it appeared to be "residual intoxication" from drinking the night before. "They are quite incorrectly calculating how much they have consumed and how many hours they should wait before they try to operate a motor vehicle," Palmer said.
There is no definitive period of time someone should wait after imbibing, Palmer said, as body mass, liver function, and metabolism will all affect how fast someone's body processes alcohol. It's always better to wait longer, Palmer added.
Officers issued 229 violation tickets in the Sea to Sky blitz, including 175 for speeding offences. Police also impounded 17 vehicles for excessive speeding on the highway, ranging from 139 kilometres per hour to more than 150 km/h in a 90 km/h zone.
