BC Interior leads the way with largest drop in impaired driving prohibitions over the holidays, says BCHP

There was a significant decrease in the number of impaired drivers stopped by the BC Highway Patrol (BCHP) in the Interior.

Numbers from the 2025 Winter Impaired Driving Campaign saw 50 prohibitions issued in Central BC.

That area includes Merritt, Kelowna, Kamloops and Clearwater.

According to the BCHP, that is a decrease of 31 from the same period in 2024.

It is also the highest decrease across the province.

A total of 240 drivers were removed from BC roads in the December campaign for everything from 24-hour drug prohibitions (eight), to 90-day alcohol prohibitions (89 total).

That’s down from the 267 prohibitions issued in December 2024.

“We shouldn’t read too much into number changes from 2024, because different weather conditions and staffing from year-to-year are major factors,” says Inspector Adam Tallboy with BC Highway Patrol.

“We are encouraged by some of the lower impaired numbers in Central BC, but the increase in northern BC is concerning. Overall, BC drivers still need to do a better job of driving sober.”

The annual Winter Impaired Driving Campaign is a province-wide effort conceived by the BC Association of Chiefs of Police and sees extra check stops, patrols and other enforcement efforts.

The BC Highway Patrol noted that the numbers are exclusively from their units and do not include individual RCMP detachments.

In early December, BCHP officers across the province also took part in the annual Light Up The Province campaign, which saw 190 prohibitions handed out in a single night.