As Merrittonians prepare for the fast-approaching holiday season, the local RCMP is busy planning various initiatives to help keep everyone safe during the Christmas festivities.
With holiday parties and celebrations in full force, the local RCMP will be targeting its enforcement on increasing presence on the roads and being especially cautious of intoxicated drivers.
“[There will be] more roadblocks, more road checks, more bar walks. We are making the public aware that we are out there,” RCMP Sgt. Norm Flemming said. “Nobody, including us, wants to have somebody making a poor decision that costs them or somebody else their health, their wellbeing or their life.”
The CounterAttack program, which celebrated its 36th anniversary this year, is aimed at preventing people from drinking and driving and works hand in hand with local RCMP authorities and ICBC. Each year, this campaign is adopted by the Merritt RCMP and this year is no different.
ICBC reports impaired driving kills an average of 113 people each year in B.C. and it remains the second leading cause of car crash fatalities in the province.
“We don’t want anyone to criminalize themselves over going out and having a good time. [You] really have to consider the consequences,” Flemming said.
There are various resources available for folks whose holiday festivities may involve alcohol. Local taxi services will be in full effect and arrangements for a designated driver to take impaired passengers home at the end of the night is always a good option.
Flemming said no amount of alcohol is known to be safe before someone gets behind the wheel.
“The easy answer is none. Anything can happen when you are behind the wheel of a car but when you introduce alcohol or an intoxicant in the system, in whatever amount, it just adds an unnecessary risk to the situation. Better to be safe than sorry,” he said.
During the CounterAttack blitz on Dec. 7, officers from 97 detachments in B.C. checked 32,877 vehicles and charged five drivers with impaired driving under the Criminal Code of Canada. Preliminary results from the blitz also include 104 90-day immediate roadside prohibitions with 30 vehicles impounded; 94 warnings with either a three, seven or 30-day immediate roadside prohibition; and 17 roadside suspensions for driving while impaired by drugs.
