'Concerning' number of impaired drivers arrested in roads in Saanich, B.C.: police

A Saanich Police Department vehicle. (Saanich Police / Twitter)

Police on southern Vancouver Island say they’ve arrested almost as many impaired drivers in the first eight months of this year than they did in 2023 in a concerning trend of people getting behind the wheel while drunk or on drugs.

Statistics released by Saanich police show that officers stopped 464 impaired drivers up until the end of August compared with 468 arrests for the same problem in all 12 months of last year.

Police say almost a third of those arrests this year happened in July and August.

Chief Const. Dean Duthie says it's concerning that drivers continue to get behind the wheel while impaired and endanger not only their own lives, but the lives of everyone else in the community.

He says the department will continue to invest resources into stopping this "selfish behaviour."

Of those arrested, 65 lost their licence for 90 days, six were impaired by drugs and seven drivers were already on an interlock program, where a device in their vehicle is supposed to prevent them from using it if they have alcohol in their body.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 11, 2024.