ICBC launching Counterattack program
Posted November 30, 2013 10:16 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Over the next month you will see a lot of police on our roads cracking down on drunk drivers. But despite a strong CounterAttack message, speed is the number one killer on our roads, followed by distracted driving and impaired driving.
So why not put more emphasis on catching distracted drivers?
Jill Blacklock with ICBC says every year there are two CounterAttack campaigns and only one focusing on distracted driving, but starting next year there will be two. “The majority of crashes that occur where there is a fatality, where there is an injury is very frustrating because the majority of them are preventable. You’ll hear that from police, you’ll hear that from family members that have been affected.”
CounterAttack has been around for 30 years, before that about 300 people died annually.
Blacklock says the numbers now are better, but not great. In the month of December in BC 95 people are killed in impaired crashes.
Vancouver Police say CounterAttack is really a year-round campaign. Constable Brian Montague explains some of the excuses officers hear when pulling drivers off the road. “It’s too expensive to take a cab; too expensive to stay the night somewhere. A $50 cab ride is much less expensive than the thousands and thousands of dollars it will cost you in either lawyers fees or impound fees when we impound your vehicle for 90 days and take your licence away.”
“I can tell you that every weekend we have stacks of drivers licences that we have taken away from drivers. If you plan on drinking and getting behind the wheel of a car, we will eventually catch up with you,” adds Montague.
Even though the number of impaired drivers on our roads has gone down, he finds the message isn’t getting through to some people because they don’t realize the dangers and adds sometimes it takes a tragedy for drivers to learn a lesson.
December statistics
– During the month of December, an average of five people are killed in crashes where impaired driving is a contributing factor.
– During the month of December, an average of 30 people are killed and 7,100 are injured in approximately 26,000 crashes in BC
Regional statistics
– Every December, an average of 4,700 people are injured in 16,000 crashes in the Lower Mainland.
– Every December, an average of 400 people are injured in 1,800 crashes in the North Central region.
– Every December, an average of 1,100 people are injured in 3,800 crashes in the Southern Interior.
– Every December, an average of 930 people are injured in 3,500 crashes on Vancouver Island.
Annual impaired driving statistics
– On average, 95 people are killed in crashes involving impaired driving in BC every year.
– On average, 26 people are killed in crashes involving impaired driving in the Lower Mainland every year.
– On average, 31 people are killed in crashes involving impaired driving in the Southern Interior every year.
– On average, 16 people are killed in crashes involving impaired driving on Vancouver Island every year.
– On average, 23 people are killed in crashes involving impaired driving in North Central BC every year.
*Crashes and injured victims from ICBC data (2008 to 2012)*
