In addition to the prohibitions, over 220 violation tickets were also issued for a variety of reasons.
“This is a grab bag of all the violations you can imagine: seat belt violations, speeding, vehicles not in order, improper lane changes, general road safety,” McLaughlin added. “A big focus for BC Highway Patrol during these concerts was making sure people were driving sober.”
Officers conducted both normal roadside breath testing, as well as nearly 300 Mandatory Alcohol Screenings, which sees drivers quickly read a demand from officers and provide a short breath sample before being moved on.
The number of tickets and prohibitions issued stemmed from thousands of vehicles moving through the site.
“We’re very good at finding and stopping impaired drivers, so unfortunately, it’s not a surprise to see numbers high. If you’re going to a concert, BC Highway Patrol is going to be on the roads. Why not just go there, safe, enjoy yourself, and not have to deal with the legal consequences either?”
Several vehicles were also towed from the area as a result of drivers receiving an immediate roadside prohibition.
Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up to date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.
Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source nanaimonewsnow.com ’
