Nelson’s Vince LeBlanc with BC Highway Patrol is praising law enforcement efforts following this year’s Shambhala Music Festival.
The week leading up to the festival, also know as the enforcement week, saw police remove one impaired driver for drug detection from the roads, while over 400 tickets were issued, 31 of those were for excessive speed (more than 40km/hr over the posted speed limit), as well as aggressive driving.
Meanwhile, the big show was on the festival’s departure where several infringements notices were issued.
“Officers conducted 70 standard field sobriety tests and 199 mandatory alcohol screenings from their two day, eight hours a day check stop.” Said LeBlanc.
“They encountered 39 people that were given 24 hour driving suspensions for drugs. 19 of those people were referred to a drug recognition expert evaluation and performed poorly on that and will likely be seeing criminal code charges in the future.”
“Also 144 motor vehicle act tickets were given, and 10 vehicles were removed from the road for unsafe vehicles.”
“All the officers involved worked super hard for eight hours a day in the hot and smoky conditions.”
Highway Patrol wants to thank motorists caught up in the check stops traffic, and understanding it is in the best interest of everyone.
“Overall, people who were stuck in traffic due to Shambhala were fairly cooperative and appreciative of the hard work that the police officers were doing. I think overall it was positive from the side of the folks using the roadway.”
Something going on in your part of the Kootenays you think people should know about? Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
