A mock crash at McMath secondary and continued roadside checks have kickstarted Richmond RCMP’s summer impaired-driving campaign.
As summer begins, Richmond RCMP are asking every driver to settle one thing before they go out: how they are getting home. A designated driver, a taxi or rideshare, transit, or staying the night – the plan matters less than having one. It’s a choice that protects you and everyone else on the road.
Summer is the highest-risk stretch of the year for impaired driving in B.C. According to ICBC, an average of 65 people are killed each year in police-reported crashes involving impaired driving, and those deaths climb from June through October. About one in five fatal crashes in the province involve a driver impaired by alcohol or drugs.
On May 20, Richmond RCMP held its first mock crash at R.A. McMath secondary, working alongside Richmond Fire-Rescue, BC Emergency Health Services, and ICBC. Students watched a staged collision play out in real time, with crews cutting into a wrecked car, treating “injured” classmates and walking them through what happens after a single bad decision behind the wheel.
The point was to put the whole experience in front of students together, heading into grad season, so the consequences of one bad decision feel real before they get behind the wheel.
“People can watch a video or see a photo, but when you see it happen in front of you, with your own classmates, it lands differently,” said Cpl. Frank Bryson, Richmond RCMP Media Relations Officer. “We wanted students to see what a crash actually pulls in – the firefighters, the paramedics, the families – and to talk about it with each other, and with their parents and teachers.”
Richmond RCMP is looking at holding more of these scenarios at other schools.
Throughout the summer, Richmond RCMP’s Road Safety Unit will continue running sobriety check stops and using mandatory alcohol screening. Under mandatory alcohol screening, officers can require a breath sample from any driver they lawfully stop, and refusing to provide one is itself a criminal offence.
The consequences are not small. A driver found in the warn or fail range faces an immediate roadside prohibition, vehicle impoundment, and monetary penalties. Criminal impairment can mean Criminal Code charges, a longer driving prohibition, mandatory installation of an ignition interlock, and possible jail. A crash while impaired can also put a driver in breach of their insurance, leaving them personally responsible for the costs.
“We run these check stops because they work,” says Sgt. Stephen Large, Richmond RCMP Road Safety Unit. “Mandatory screening means a routine stop can become a breath test for every driver, and most people we talk to understand that and plan ahead. If you’ve been drinking or using drugs, the only safe choice is to not be behind the wheel in the first place.”
If your summer plans include alcohol or other drugs, plan your way home before you go out. Designate a driver, take transit, or book a taxi or rideshare. The options are everywhere, and using one keeps you, and everyone else on the road, safe.
These crashes are preventable. Planning ahead is the simplest choice you can make, and the one that matters most.
Never drive impaired, advise RCMP.
