My GoogleFu is completely failing at trying to find the exact number of alcohol-impairment related deaths by year in BC. If anyone has better luck than me, please post the stats.
I did; however, find this link that shows that overall traffic fatalities (including drunk driving deaths) in BC declined at a rate of 25% from 2003 to 2009:
http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailyn...tml?id=1320484
The article states that the decline was attributed to two factors: 110 new traffic enforcement officers, and a more concerted effort to ensure people wear seatbelts.
Quote:
A steep drop in traffic fatalities in B.C. over the past few years is due in large part to a simple change in police strategy: Write fewer tickets for speeding and more for not wearing a seatbelt.
Since 2002, the number of people killed each year in traffic accidents in B.C. has dropped by roughly 25 per cent, from more than 450 a year to around 350.
B.C.'s decline occurred even though there was no real reduction in the overall number of crashes and is in sharp contrast to Alberta, where traffic deaths have stayed steady.
Part of the reason for the drop was the addition of 110 traffic enforcement officers in 2004.
But Supt. Norm Gaumont, head of traffic services for the RCMP, said the real turning point came in 2003, when the force began looking more closely at what was behind traffic deaths.
"Previously, road safety was about writing a lot of speeding tickets," said Gaumont.
And while speed is a factor in many crashes, Gaumont said it became clear the real culprit in many traffic deaths was people not wearing their seatbelts.
As a result, officers were instructed to spend less time writing speeding tickets and do more road-checks for seatbelts.
Before the change, Gaumont said, RCMP officers in B.C. would typically write about 40,000 tickets a year for seatbelt violations.
That jumped to roughly 90,000 a few years ago and now stands at about 70,000 a year.
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