Roadway Deaths Increase On Island Highways

Impaired Driving & Excessive Speed
Leading Cause Of Traffic Fatalities

Vancouver Island RCMP Saw a 7.8% Increase in Roadway Deaths in 2009

With more focused enforcement and investigational effectiveness, Island District Traffic Services are now able to discuss the numbers, locations and factors of the fatal collisions and crashes that took the lives of fifty-one (51) people in RCMP jurisdictions in 2009.

Up from forty-six (46) in 2008, it was a troubling year for fatalities on the Island’s roadways, compared to other parts of British Columbia. It remains very apparent that impaired driving, excessive speed and driver distractions are present in ever increasing percentages of those crashes where people were killed.

Impairment, Excess Speed & Driver Inattention

Leading Highway Killers

Our greatest challenges were 27% alcohol or drug impairment, 27% excessive speed and 20% driver distractions contributed to collisions resulting in fatalities for 2009.

We will be focusing once again on Impaired Driving, occupant restraints, excessive speed, aggressive and distracted drivers for 2010. The Police on Vancouver Island and, for that matter, all through British Columbia would like to see less wrecked vehicles and broken bodies, to have less notifications of next-of-kin and to enjoy a continually decreasing number of foolish drivers.