A shorter enforcement campaign and competing demands on police resources contributed to a sharp drop in impaired-driving prohibitions issued across B.C. this summer.
BC Highway Patrol issued 229 impaired-driving prohibitions during its six-week Summer Impaired Driving Campaign, down from 626 during last year’s 10-week campaign.
The 2026 campaign ran from June 15 to July 31, while last year’s campaign ran until Aug. 31.
Sergeant Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol largely credits the shorter campaign period for the decrease.
“The main reason we’re seeing a drop in the impaired driving enforcement number is a much shorter campaign,” he said. “Plus, we had some other commitments this year, including the international soccer tournament that required our attention.”
The Kootenay region recorded 13 impaired-driving prohibitions during this year’s campaign, compared with 88 in 2025.
However, McLaughlin said that figure does not capture all of the enforcement conducted during the Shambhala Music Festival near Salmo.
The festival was the focus of a separate enforcement operation, and Highway Patrol used additional resources beyond its regular patrol officers. Some investigations and data from the operation have also not yet been captured.
The Kootenay region also recorded two drug-impaired driving prohibitions during the campaign period, compared with 31 last year.
Despite the lower numbers, McLaughlin warned it is too early to determine whether drivers are actually making better decisions about impaired driving.
“When we do go out and do our enforcement campaigns, we’re still finding way too many people who are impaired by drugs or alcohol. It’s clear that there’s still a substantial portion of the population that thinks this is okay, or that somehow they are an exception to these rules, which is a terribly dangerous approach.”
Across B.C., the South Coast recorded the most impaired-driving prohibitions this summer at 97, followed by Northern B.C. with 58. Vancouver Island recorded 32, Central B.C. recorded 24 and Special Traffic Operations recorded five.
BC Highway Patrol notes investigations and statistical collection are ongoing, so the numbers may change.
McLaughlin said drivers should plan ahead before drinking or using drugs and make sure they are completely sober before getting behind the wheel.
“We still need to do a lot better to make our roads safer, and impaired driving is one of the easiest, most preventable things we can do to make our roads safer,” said McLaughlin.
“It takes a bare minimum of planning to make sure that you’re not getting behind the wheel impaired by drugs or alcohol.”
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