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81 driving prohibitions issued in the Southern Interior last December

267 impaired drivers caught

An average of 8.61 impaired drivers were taken off B.C. roads each day in December, BC Highway Patrol said in a sobering reveal Thursday.

That’s the same as one impaired driver caught every three hours for 31 days and for those involved in the Winter Impaired Driving Campaign it means education is not enough for people who choose to drive while impaired, Supt. Mike Coyle said in a press release.

"Nobody is surprised when they fail a roadside screening device and their vehicle is towed," Coyle said. "Enforcement is a necessary follow-up to education."

Of the 267 impaired drivers taken off the roads in December 2024 the most were in the Southern Interior. Here's the breakdown of prohibitions in BC Highway Patrol’s five regions:

  • North (100 Mile House and north, excluding Clearwater); 52 prohibitions.
  • South East Central (including Vernon, Kelowna, Kamloops and Clearwater); 81 prohibitions.
  • Lower Mainland (including Pemberton to Hope); 45 prohibitions.
  • South East Kootenay (including Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Grand Forks, east to Alberta); 36 prohibitions.
  • Vancouver Island; 53 prohibitions.

Note that some regions, particularly Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, have large municipal and RCMP traffic enforcement units that are not part of BC Highway Patrol data.

The annual Winter Impaired Driving Campaign is an annual, provincewide initiative in support of National Impaired Driving Prevention Month that features enhanced enforcement through check stops and patrols.



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