A total of 226 tickets were handed out and 362 roadside breath demands were made by the RCMP at two major music concerts held at Laketown Ranch earlier this summer.
Of those breath demands, 277 were Mandatory Alcohol Screening tests.
BC Highway Patrol assisted local detachments around Lake Cowichan during the Sunfest music festival that was held on the B.C. Day long weekend, as well as the Nickelback concert that was held Aug. 9.
Inspector Adam Tallboy, Officer in Charge of Vancouver Island BC Highway Patrol, said Mandatory Alcohol Screening helps move the traffic-check stops more quickly.
"We don’t need to form grounds for suspicion, we just read the demand, drivers give a breath, and off we go,” he said. “MAS is an incredibly useful tool for keeping roads safe, and we appreciate the patience of all the law-abiding drivers who gave them.”
A RCMP press release indicated that the 220 roadside-breath demands during the three-day Sunfest event resulted in six 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibitions, three three-day IRPs, two 24-hour driving prohibitions and 172 violation tickets.
There were 142 roadside-breath demands made at the one-day Nickelback concert that led to 13 90-day IRPs, four three-day IRPs, one 24-hour driving prohibition and 54 violation tickets.
“We want everyone to get home safely after great concerts like these,” said Tallboy. “We empathize that no one wants to be slowed down by a check stop, but this is how we remind you that none of our officers is trying to be a rock star; it’s simply our job to deliver immediate consequences for driving while impaired.”
