The drunk driving problem in the Peace Region was once so bad that the RCMP command in Prince George sent a special team of officers just to police the roads for drivers under the influence.
However, that has improved in the best way possible, and the North District RCMP is crediting the Dawson Creek detachment with a huge dropoff in the number of drunk driving deaths in the Peace.
According to Staff Sgt. Pat McTiernan, extra effort from our local Mounties has pushed down the number of motor vehicle fatalities involving alcohol from around 14 in 2006 to zero in 2013.
McTiernan was among a group gathered at City Hall on Monday to pay tribute to members of the Dawson Creek detachment who have done extra work to curtail the number of drunk drivers on Peace Country roads.
The ceremony was attended by Laurel and Michael Middelaer, who founded the advocacy group Alexa's Team after their daughter was killed by a drunk driver.
Officers who have stopped 12 drunk drivers are admitted to Alexa's Team, according to Dawson Creek RCMP Sgt. Scott West, who added that Dawson Creek officers alone stopped a total of 122 impaired drivers in 2013. 聽
McTiernan said Dawson Creek is unique in that many general duty cops, as opposed to traffic officers, make Alexa's Team. In 2012, 12 officers from Dawson Creek were added to the team, including five general duty officers.
In the RCMP鈥檚 Northern District, which covers detachments from 100 Mile House to the Yukon border, McTiernan said there were more than 100 fatalities in 2006. By 2013, that number had dropped to around 45.
West said their work is far from done, though. A rollover on June 9 near Arras killed one motorist and left a passenger in critical condition. RCMP suspect alcohol may have been involved, police said earlier, although investigation is ongoing.
