Prince George RCMP are reminding residents to plan a safe and sober ride home this holiday season, after seeing a surge in impaired driving cases in October.
During October, Prince George RCMP issued 35 90-day driving prohibitions, all of which also resulted in a 30-day vehicle impoundment, 12 three-day driving prohibitions, of which 10 resulted in a three-day vehicle impoundment, and seven 24-hour driving prohibitions, all of which resulted in the vehicle being impounded for a day.
“Prince George RCMP issued a combined total of 54 driving prohibitions during the month of October, which is a staggering number of impaired drivers to be taking off of our streets in one month,” Prince George RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jennifer Cooper said in a statement issued on Tuesday. “We are putting out a reminder to drivers that if you are going to be drinking alcohol or consuming other intoxicating substances, you need to find an alternate way home. The safety of everyone on the road depends on drivers making safe and sober choices.”
According to Statistics Canada, Prince George RCMP responded to 218 impaired driving incidents in all of 2021, which resulted in 51 people being charged, 97 cases being cleared in other ways and 57 being determined to be unfounded.
“Prince George RCMP will be increasing its targeted impaired driving enforcement as we approach the holiday season, to help keep impaired drivers off of our streets,” Prince George RCMP municipal traffic services commander Sgt. Kyle Ushock said, in a statement released on Tuesday.
