iN NUMBERS: High and unsafe drivers busted at Shambhala Music Festival in BC

Shambhala is an iconic musical festival with a dedicated following of ravers who love electronic music and making friends. It also has a reputation of people being high behind the wheel.

Members of the RCMP’s BC Highway Patrol camped out near the festival July 24 to July 27 and caught lots of people who didn’t sober up before hitting the road.

“We asked people before the event to make sure they allowed drugs to clear their system before driving, but too many ignored that advice,” BC Highway Patrol Sgt. Michael McLaughlin said in a press release issued, Aug. 4. “It looks like we will have to be back next year, and hopefully in greater numbers, to deal with festival-goers who are driving unsafely.”

Here are the numbers:

• 50,000: People went to the Shambhala Music Festival this year, according to the BC Highway Patrol.
• 51: 24-hour driving suspensions for drug impairment.
• 30: Evaluations were done by a drug recognition expert, which resulted in 27 impaired-by-drug investigations.
• 23: Blood draws by a lab technician were done to investigate impaired drivers.
• 311: Speeding tickets were handed out around the festival.
• 10: Fines for vehicle passengers without seatbelts were given out.
• 11: Tickets for driving without insurance were handed out.
• 85: Field sobriety tests were conducted for suspected drug-impaired driving.
• 57: Vehicles were towed because of mechanical safety issues or driver impairment.
• 30: Million dollars. That’s an estimate for how much revenue Shambhala made this year.