Three RCMP officers from the Smithers detachment were recognized by being named to the province-wide Alexa’s Team, a recognition for taking drunk drivers off the road.
The BCAA Road Safety Foundation announced the honours last month.
Alexa’s Team is so-named after a four-year-old who was killed by a drunk driver in 2008.
Alexa was with her family at a horse paddock on the side of a road when a driver swerved and hit her and hurt her family standing who were standing by her side.
To be a member on the team means police officers have to have forwarded a minimum of 10 full impaired driving charge recommendations to the Crown, and or issued 90 day driving prohibitions under the new Immediate Roadside Prohibition laws.
The Bulkley Valley representatives are Cst. Scott Johnston, Cst. Chris Mosley and Cpl. Mario Cloutier.
Cloutier had the extra distinction of being named an All-Star, meaning he was one of the top 25 impaired driving investigations in B.C. in 2010.
According to Mosley, it’s public safety that’s important, and all officers will have their own reasons for wanting to get them off the street.
“Luckily he’s still alive but [my brother] was in an accident with an impaired driver and was seriously injured. Everyone has their own reason for it.”
Impaired driving is certainly an issue in the area and there has been serious harm caused by people who choose to drink.
Mosley said he remembers a few incidents, including a rollover near Hankin Avenue in Telkwa last year.
“There are definitely stories in the Bulkley Valley of impaired drivers or people under the influence who have died as a result of collisions,” he said, also recalling the death of a young girl in Moricetown in 2005.
There are educational campaigns to get people to make better decisions, including the PARTY campaign, which stands for preventing alcohol related trauma in youth.
But education can be an uphill battle.
“I think there’s always going to be a certain amount of people that think that they drive better when they have a few or that they drive better when they’re screaming down the highway,” he said.
The rollover he remembers from Telkwa, he said the driver was under the impression he would stay awake if he drank Fireball.
A large part of the problem is also people who didn’t make arrangements, maybe people who hadn’t planned on drinking.
“They don’t they’ve had that much or it’s just inconvenient to have to make other arrangements.”
Thankfully the drunk drivers are a minority considering the whole of the driving public.
“I think most people have a good idea that drinking and driving don’t mix.”
For 2010, Alexa’s Team had 219 officers and 8,386 impaired drivers were taken off the road. Over three years, BCAA said that over 18,000 impaired drivers were removed from roadways.
Allan Lamb, executive director of the BCAA Road Safety Foundation, said that there are more people who die from traffic crashes than from murders and homicides, and the majority of impaired drivers have come from licenced premises.
He had also said there are statistics showing that impaired drivers cost the B.C. economy $1.6 billion a year through health and court costs.