Victoria police are reminding drivers to find a safe way home after removing more than 40 impaired drivers from the road this month.
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Since the beginning of December, VicPD officers have been stationed at dedicated checkpoints throughout the City of Victoria and the Township of Esquimalt screening for impaired drivers.
Between Dec. 1 and 24, officers stopped 42 drivers impaired by drugs and/or alcohol. In a statement, the department reiterated impaired driving is still an issue in the community.
Victoria police started the month by taking five impaired drivers off the streets, including one man who attempted to give officers a hamburger when they requested his driver’s licence.
Stricter impaired driving laws came into effect on Dec. 18 that remove the requirement for officers to require reasonable suspicion that a driver may be impaired before administering roadside testing.
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On Dec. 21, the first weekend under the new legislation, Saanich police stopped hundreds of cars during a campaign sponsored by ICBC and co-ordinated with the region’s Integrated Traffic Saftey Unit. That night saw officers at several checkpoints throughout Greater Victoria. Saanich police alone towed four vehicles.
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During the same weekend, the Oak Bay Police Department took two drivers off the road.
Officers will continue to be out, conducting counter attack checkpoints into the new year.
