Coquitlam RCMP handed out fewer 24-hour roadside suspensions to impaired drivers in August compared to the same month a year ago. There were also no injury or fatal crashes related to alcohol in August 2012, while in August 2011, there were three in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam. Port Moody police recorded a similar drop in the number of drunk drivers in August.
Photograph by: file photo , NOW
Summer in the Tri-Cities didn't just turn out to be arid in terms of weather, it proved fairly dry when it came to drinking and driving.
Coquitlam Mounties are reporting the number of fatal or injury-related crashes and various impaired driving suspensions were all down in August compared to the previous year.
According to the RCMP's summer CounterAttack numbers, there were 28 injury or fatal crashes in August, compared to 38 during the same time period last year.
The number of impaired driving prohibitions - in the range of three to 90 days - dropped to 13 from 31 in 2011.
There were also no injury or fatal crashes related to alcohol recorded for the month of August, compared to three the previous year.
The number of 24-hour roadside suspensions also dipped slightly to 12 from 14 in 2011.
RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung said the numbers appear to show a good news story, but cautioned police can't exactly pinpoint why the stats have dropped.
He said a number of factors could be at play for the decline, suggesting people could be driving more carefully, or there were simply less people on the road during that particular month.
"All we can say is, 'Yes, they're down,' and why exactly we're not sure," Chung said.
He noted the number of impaired drivers being caught is similarly down across the province.
The CounterAttack program yielded similar results for the first half of the summer.
For the month of July, local Mounties caught 37 impaired drivers, compared to 71 during the same time period last year.
The number of people who refused to provide a breath sample and therefore received a 90-day driving ban dropped to 25 in July from 45 the previous year.
The number of criminal charges recommended for impaired driving also took a tumble to just one from 11 the previous July.
Though the summer CounterAttack program may have ended, Chung noted the RCMP would continue to target impaired drivers throughout the year.
The Port Moody Police Department also recorded a drop in the number of 90-day suspensions, handing out 22 between mid-June and the end of August, compared to 41 the previous year.
Under tough provincial drinking and driving laws, which were reinstated in June following a court challenge, drivers can receive immediate roadside suspensions, have their cars impounded and face fines of up to $4,000.
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