TWO dozen impaired drivers had their licenses revoked by North Vancouver RCMP over the B.C. Day long weekend, a fact they say underscores the power of new provincial rules.
The confiscations, which took place at designated roadblocks and via roving patrols, show that the new drinking and driving penalties in the province are working, according to police.
"Impaired driving is the No. 1 criminal cause of death in Canada," said Cpl. Richard De Jong, a spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP. "We are now able to immediately remove a driver who is proven to be impaired from our roads. . . . You have 24 drivers who were taken off the road, representing 24 families, 24 victims, 24 people who could potentially have been killed by them."
All of the drivers had failed a breath test, which means their blood alcohol level was between 0.05 and 0.08. While the majority of them received a three-day suspension, considered a warning, nine repeat offenders had their licences revoked for 90 days and their vehicles impounded for a month. Of the 24 drivers, only three of them were female - a statistic that is telling, according to De Jong.
"Young male drivers are our highest risk category, and the hardest to get the drinking and driving message through to," he said, before posing a question to that demographic:
"Alcohol impacts thought, mood and judgment. Do you want to be in control of your vehicle, making decisions that could be lifeimpacting, potentially lethal?"
Since September 2010, there has been a 50 per cent drop in alcohol-related deaths in B.C. compared to the previous five-year average.
