File photo (Image Credit: BC Highway Patrol)

By Aaron Schulze

Winter Impaired Driving Campaign

Fewer impaired drivers on Kamloops-area highways during the holidays: police

Jan 9, 2026 | 9:36 AM

KAMLOOPS — There was a notable year-over-year drop in impaired driving prohibitions issued on major highways in the Kamloops area, though police say “B.C. drivers still need to do a better job of driving sober.”

New numbers provided by BC Highway Patrol Friday (Jan. 9) show 50 prohibitions were issued in Central B.C. — which includes Kamloops, Merritt, Clearwater and Kelowna — in December as part of the 2025 Winter Impaired Driving Campaign. 

It’s a decrease of 31 prohibitions issued in 2024 and the greatest year-over-year decline of impaired driving prohibitions among all regions in B.C.  In the Kootenay region, which includes Revelstoke, Nelson, Cranbrook, Golden, there were 27 prohibitions, a reduction of nine.

Overall, BC Highway Patrol says 240 impaired drivers were removed from provincial highways in December, down from 267 during the same month in 2024. Police say there were 89, 90-day alcohol prohibitions and eight 24-hour drug prohibitions issued last month.

(Image Credit: BC Highway Patrol)

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“We shouldn’t read too much into number changes from 2024, because different weather conditions and staffing from year-to-year are major factors,” BC Highway Patrol Inspector Adam Tallboy said in a statement. “We are encouraged by some of the lower impaired numbers in Central BC, but the increase in northern BC is concerning.”

“Overall, B.C. drivers still need to do a better job of driving sober.” 

These numbers do not include drivers pulled over by individual RCMP detachments or municipal police agencies, BC Highway Patrol said.

Mounties say the annual Winter Impaired Driving Campaign is a province-wide effort conceived by the BC Association of Chiefs of Police. It features detachments across B.C. using extra check stops, patrols and other enhanced enforcement techniques such as the Light Up the Province campaign. 

Police add Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) continues to be a “key tool” in the effort to remove drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs from B.C. highways.

“A mandatory impaired driving breath demand can be made for any motorist,” Tallboy added. “Driving on BC highways is a privilege that needs to be treated with the respect it deserves. People who are impaired and endanger other road-users will be removed from the highways.”