More drunk drivers caught

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More and more officers have been hired in the North Okanagan in recent years and that is relating to more enforcement on North Okanagan roads.

RCMP spokesman Gord Molendyk says enforcement in the outlying areas surrounding Vernon has picked up significantly and the numbers are showing it.

Over the past two and a half months the North Okanagan Traffic Services (NOTS) have issued 23, 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibitions in the Lumby and Cherryville area, a dramatic increase from the time-period before.

Molendyk says many residents in the outskirt communities had previously felt there was not a strong police presence and that perhaps they could get away with things like drinking and driving.

He says officers hope their increased enforcement will make residents aware they are there and they are watching.

NOTS also hit the streets of Armstrong this past weekend conducting a road check.

Officers were on Smith Road in Armstrong for three hours Saturday morning and discovered that Armstrong residents don’t like their seat belts.

20 seatbelt violations tickets were handed out over the three hours including six given to commercial vehicles. 

Similar to what police discovered at a road check in Vernon back in September, where more seatbelt tickets were issued than anything else. In both cases, Molendyk is surprised seat-belts are such an issue.

He notes that the majority of the seatbelt violations they find are within municipalities, where perhaps people feel they are not going far, or for long. But, Molendyk says, that is when accidents are most likely.

“The interesting statistic is that the majority of accidents happen within five kilometers of your residence,” says Molendyk. “The body in motion, stays in motion and that is where the major injuries take place.”

During the blitz they also issued two tinted window tickets and issued five warning for various vehicle defects.