Police nabbed 200 impaired drivers over the weekend, B.C. Highway Patrol says

A checkpoint is seen in Price George in this image handed out by B.C. Highway Patrol.

Mounties say they took more than 200 impaired drivers off highways in B.C. over the weekend during the annual “Light Up the Province” campaign.

The B.C. Highway Patrol initiative resulted in police checking around 43,000 vehicles across the province, according to the force.

It says preliminary data shows 222 impaired drivers had their licences suspended at the roadside, and 279 drivers were ticketed for other offences.

“We know it feels like an inconvenience when you are waiting in line at a checkstop, but it’s effective and we are catching a lot of impaired drivers,” said Supt. Mike Coyle, officer in charge of B.C. Highway Patrol, in a Tuesday news release.

“Plenty of people still think they can get away with driving while impaired by alcohol and other drugs. It’s an unacceptable attitude and the reason why Light Up the Province is necessary.”

According to ICBC data from 2018 to 2022, an average of 61 people are killed and 1,404 injured in crashes related to impaired driving every year in the province.