With the usual increase in road traffic over the BC-long-weekend, as well as Dr.Bonnie Henry’s advice to stay outside, ICBC and police are cautioning the public of impaired drivers.
ICBC notes that despite the pandemic, we can still expect an increase in traffic on roads due to out-of-province visitors and locals visiting parks and restaraunts.
Police across the province are preparing for the weekend by setting up CounterAttack roadchecks to get impaired drivers off of the roads.
If you’re caught driving impaired you can end up with increased insurance premiums, fines, car impoundment or even jail time.
According to ICBC, on average 26 people are injured in 130 crashes in North Central BC every year during the BC long weekend, most of which occur on the Friday.
Province wide, on average four people are killed and 620 people are injured in 2,200 crashes over the B.C. long weekend.
Road Safety Manager for Northern ICBC, Doug Macdonald advises that we can reduce those numbers drastically by watching out for motorcyclists, giving yourself more time to get to where you’re going and to take breaks throughout your trip.
ICBC also advises to become familiar with taxi services, and save their numbers in your phone before drinking, especially if you are away from home and unfamiliar with your surroundings.