The Vancouver Police Department is releasing the impaired driving statistics from the third weekend of the summer roadblock campaign. After last week’s results which showed a huge spike compared to the same weekend of 2011, police were concerned that some people were not getting the message about the perils of drinking and driving.
This past weekend, on Friday and Saturday, roadblock crews were out again and took 49 impaired drivers off the road, compared with 48 on the same weekend of 2011. In the two nights, officers administered 305 tests. Of the 49 impaired drivers, 12 received Immediate Roadside Suspensions (IRP) “fail” sanctions, 22 received IRP “warn” sanctions, six received 24-hour prohibitions, and one received a 24-hour prohibition for impairment by drugs.
In addition, police have noticed a concerning trend amongst new drivers, drivers with the green “N” on their vehicles. This past weekend, eight new drivers received 12-hour prohibitions for a total of 30 12-hour prohibitions since the start of the campaign. That compares with 36 for the entire 2011 summer campaign that ran from June 30th to August 7th, 2011.
“New drivers are not allowed to have any alcohol in their bodies when they drive,” says Vancouver Police spokesperson Constable Lindsey Houghton. “The vast majority of new drivers make good decisions in terms of being safe drivers and driving sober but for those that are not, the results can be tragic.”
Breakdown of 49 Impaired Drivers for July 13-14, 2012
- 12 IRP “fail” sanctions
- 22 IRP “warn” sanctions
- 6 24-hour prohibitions
- 1 24-hour prohibition for impairment by drugs
- 8 new drivers received 12-hour prohibitions
