Holiday road checks begin this weekend in B.C. as police crack down on drunk driving

RCMP are starting the annual CounterAttack holiday campaign this weekend with road checks set up across the province.

RCMP, along with ICBC, are urging British Columbians to plan ahead if they intend to drink when they go out saying if you drink don't drive.

"We know celebrations will look different this holiday season. If you've been drinking at home, please stay home and don't drive," ICBC's public affairs and driver licensing vice-president Lindsay Matthews said in a media release. "When you drink and drive, you not only risk your life but those of others on the road. We all need to do our part to prevent crashes and save lives. If you plan to drink, plan ahead."

Impaired driving is the leading cause of fatal car crashes, with an average of 67 deaths every year in B.C., ICBC said. More than half of all impaired related crashes, 56 per cent, happen between Friday and Sunday.

"We fully support our road safety partners and the CounterAttack campaign and will be out in force over the holiday season to deter impaired driving," B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police Traffic Safety Committee vice-chair Supt. Holly Turton in the release. "Police will utilize mandatory alcohol screening, Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and Drug Recognition Experts to identify and remove alcohol and drug-affected drivers from our roads to make B.C.'s roads some of the safest in the world."

According to the release, an average of 17 people are killed in crashes involving impaired driving in the Southern Interior every year.

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