With the Canada Day long weekend approaching, drivers are urged to plan ahead to get home safely if their summer activities involve alcohol.
Every year on average, 65 people are killed in crashes involving impaired driving in B.C., with 40 per cent of those fatalities occurring during summer months alone, according to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia.
In North-Central B.C., on average 14 people are killed and 170 injured in 250 impaired driving related crashes every year. And on Canada Day, seven people are injured in 38 crashes in the region on average.
Police will be ramping up enforcement beginning this weekend, looking for impaired drivers at CounterAttack roadchecks set up throughout the province.
"There's no excuse to drink and drive. If your summer activities involve alcohol, always use a designated driver, call a taxi or rideshare, or take transit," said Lindsay Matthews, ICBC customer experience and public affairs vice president.
B.C. has the toughest drinking and driving laws in Canada. Those caught driving impaired face an array of penalties driving suspensions up to 90 days to fines up to $4,060 and a risking premium on your insurance to jail time, mandatory rehabilitation and installation of ignition interlock.
If you crash while driving impaired, you're likely in breach of your insurance policy. That means you could be personally responsible for 100 per cent of the costs if you damage someone else's property or injure them.
