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Impaired and unprepared drivers keep RCMP busy

The Whistler RCMP have spent a busy week on the roads catching impaired drivers and sorting out accidents that resulted from the snowstorms that hit the valley bottom over the weekend.

The Whistler RCMP have spent a busy week on the roads catching impaired drivers and sorting out accidents that resulted from the snowstorms that hit the valley bottom over the weekend.

The RCMP intercepted four impaired drivers between March 8 and March 15.

On March 8 at 1:29 a.m. an RCMP roadblock at Highway 99 and Alta Vista stopped a vehicle and detected an odor of liquor. A 31-year-old male driver from Whistler admitted to three drinks that evening and then failed a roadside test. He was brought in to RCMP headquarters to receive a breathalyzer and provided samples of .220 and .210, almost three times the legal limit of 0.08 (80 milligrams/per 100 milliliters of blood).

At 11:50 p.m. on March 8, a roadblock in the same area stopped a 37-year-old Squamish male driving south, who also failed his roadside test. He provided two samples of 0.170.

On March 9 at 11:48 p.m. on Alpine Way at Rainbow Drive the RCMP stopped a driver who had violated the terms of his 90-day administrative driving prohibition for an earlier impaired driving charge. He was originally charged on Jan. 10, and was caught two months into the probation.

On March 13 at 2:23 a.m. the RCMP received a call regarding an accident with an impaired driver on Cottonwood Street in Pemberton. They attended the scene and found a car with damage to the rear end. A witness at the scene identified the driver, a 19-year-old Whistler female who later provided samples of .110 and .100.

On March 13 at 11:14 p.m. the RCMP stopped a vehicle at Highway 99 and Nicklaus North and detected an odor of liquor. The 33-year-old male driver failed the roadside test and then provided samples of .120 and .110.

In B.C., drivers who exceed .08 are given an automatic 90-day administrative driving prohibition. If you are charged and convicted of any one of three impaired driving offenses the minimum sentence is a $1,000 fine and a one-year driving prohibition, although it can be higher if you have a previous impaired driving conviction.

That results in higher vehicle insurance premiumsand as of last year British Columbians are required to install an in-car breathalyzer at their own expense that they must blow into to start the vehicle.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) predicted last week that British Columbia would lower the blood-alcohol limit to 0.05 per cent, the lowest in Canada. B.C. Solicitor General Kash Heed has yet to confirm this, but said B.C. will have the most aggressive laws prohibiting drinking and driving in the country.

It's unknown what that might mean, but Ontario has brought in an automatic 90-day suspension for drivers who provide samples between 0.05 and 0.08, and Manitoba has zero tolerance for drinking and driving for all drivers with five or fewer years of experience.

Snowstorm causes accidents

Winter driving conditions were a contributing factor in several accidents last week, including one accident that involved four vehicles.

The first report was on March 11 at 8:15 p.m. A vehicle went off the road and rolled down the embankment at the Green Riving Crossing north of Whistler. The male driver was not injured, but the vehicle sustained more than $6,000 in damage.

On March 12 at 1:45 a.m. a male called for assistance after sliding off the side of Kadenwood Road. He was not injured but conditions made it impossible to retrieve the vehicle until the following day.

At 12:48 p.m. on the same day the RCMP attended a two-vehicle accident at Highway 99 and Whistler Way where a northbound vehicle slid out of control into the southbound lane, hitting another vehicle.

At 12:54 p.m. the RCMP received a call from Highway 99 and the Daisy Lake Dam after a northbound Land Rover slid off the road and rolled onto the roof. The female driver was taken to the Whistler Health Care Centre by ambulance, but was later released with minor injuries.

At 1:27 p.m. RCMP responded to a minor collision at Highway 99 and Blueberry in the northbound lane. A passing driver who turned his head to look at the accident at 1:32 p.m. caused another accident by hitting the vehicle in front of him and pushing it into oncoming traffic. All told four vehicles were damaged in the second accident.

A passenger from the vehicle hit by the inattentive driver was taken to the health care centre with neck and back injuries, but was later released.

Just shy of 2 p.m. a plow truck clipped a northbound vehicle while attempting to pass in the Olympic bus lane. The vehicle was stopped at a red light and the light had just turned green when the plow came through.

The RCMP remind people that winter driving conditions are still in effect and to use caution on the road.

Traveller cheque fraud under investigation

The RCMP are reviewing surveillance tape after a business with branches in Whistler and Squamish accepted counterfeit Visa traveller's cheques. The first incident took place on Feb. 25 in Squamish with a counterfeit $100 U.S. cheque, followed by a $500 U.S. cheque the following day in Whistler.

 

Man caught violating house arrest

A 38-year-old Whistler male was caught violating the terms of his house arrest on March 15 after police spotted him in the village at 10:30 a.m. The original conviction was in connection to money laundering.

The individual was presented to a Justice of the Peace, then sent to a processing centre in Surrey until his sentence could be reviewed.