RCMP in South Surrey and White Rock will be out in full force New Year’s Eve – the final day of its Christmas CounterAttack.
Police across the province have been conducting CounterAttack road checks through December in an effort to reduce impaired driving by drug or alcohol.
According to ICBC, impaired driving kills an average of 66 people in B.C. every year; of those deaths, an average of 16 occur in the Lower Mainland.
White Rock officers launched Christmas CounterAttack Dec. 3 by setting up roadblocks on Marine Drive and Johnston Road to check for impaired drivers.
Surrey RCMP will increase its staffing levels to keep up with calls for service on New Year’s Eve.
“We have a larger contingent (of officers) working than on a normal night shift. That goes the same for other major holidays, we will have extra people on,” said Cpl. Scotty Schumann. “Certainly our traffic officers will be all working and will certainly be focusing on impaired driving whether that be by drug or alcohol,” he said.
Schumann noted the detachment generally receives a lot of calls on New Year’s Eve, “most of them are noise and disturbance related.”
Penalties for impaired or suspected impaired driving range from a 24-hour driving probation to criminal charges.
RCMP recommends using a designated driver, public transit, taxi, or Operation Red Nose, which is available most weekends in December, 604-532-0888 or operationrednose.com.
White Rock RCMP want to remind everyone that failing or refusing to submit to a breath-test or drug evaluation carries the same Criminal Code of Canada penalties as impaired driving.
If drivers provide a breath-test that is over 0.08 or refuse to provide a breath-test, they are subject to a 90-day driving prohibition regardless of whether they are subsequently charged or convicted of impaired driving.