MORE than 800 tickets were issued, dozens of cars were towed, 71 orders were issued to fix vehicle defects and 83 people are facing drug-impaired driving offences.

These are among the results of BC Highway Patrol’s road safety efforts for the Shambhala electronic music festival in Salmo in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia.

As festivalgoers arrived from July 21 to July 25, BC Highway Patrol focussed on speed and vehicle infractions in all the mountain passes into Salmo including the Kootenay Pass, Bombi Pass, and Paulson Pass. The result included:

* 360 speeding tickets;

* 9 excessive speeding tickets;

* 11 tickets for no insurance;

* 11 Notice and Orders for unsafe or mechanically unsound vehicles.

As people left the festival, BC Highway Patrol teamed up with Nelson Police to look out for impaired driving and unsafe vehicles in particular. Those efforts led to the following:

* Approximately 60 vehicles towed for mechanical safety or driver impairment;
* 59 24-hour suspensions for impairment by drugs;
* 24 Criminal Code investigations for impairment by drugs.

“The temperatures were high and a little uncomfortable for officers working long days in full uniform,” says Cpl. Michael McLaughlin. “But it’s clear this enforcement was necessary. Police officers were particularly concerned about getting impaired drivers and unsafe vehicles off the road, and they were right to be concerned.”