VicPD had to shut down a roadblock early Sunday because there were too many impaired drivers.
The roadblock was near the corner of Yates and Wharf streets and was shut down at 2 a.m. on Sunday, August 1st after only two hours of operation.
On Saturday, July 31st, fifteen cars were impounded in a six-hour time frame.
Due to the sheer amount of drunk drivers, VicPD said there was too much paperwork and not enough tow trucks to continue the roadblock.
What an unbelievable night. Multiple impaired drivers, noisy vehicles, no issuance, too many passengers… We ran out of tow trucks! Allways Towing did an amazing job tonight. Thank you! To everyone, please plan a safe ride home and keep an eye out for impaired drivers, call 911. pic.twitter.com/GiKf6jz3e8
— VicPD Traffic (@vicpdtraffic) August 1, 2021
A separate roadblock was also set up in Esquimalt.
Officers took 24 impaired drivers off the road over two days on July 30th and July 31st, with the majority of infractions occurring at the Yaters and Wharf Streets roadblock.
Overall, officers issued 32 violation tickets for various offences under the Motor Vehicle Act.
VicPD issued two 12-hour licence suspensions, five 24-hour driving prohibitions, 11 three-day driving prohibitions, and six 90-day administrative driving prohibitions in total over the course of this past long weekend.
According to VicPD Traffic, multiple infractions for noisy vehicles were also issued, including one for a blue Corvette which unnecessarily revved its engine driving out of a roadblock.
Roadblocks occurred throughout the weekend and VicPD have reported multiple cars pulling U-Turn’s to escape them.
VicPD opted not to chase vehicles out of fear for public safety.
“67 people die in crashes involving impaired driving. Almost half of those deaths happen during the summer months,” read VicPD in a statement.
“VicPD officers will continue to target impaired drivers throughout the summer.”
This weekend saw a huge uptick in tourism from across the waters as hotels and ferries were fully booked and tourism operators in Greater Victoria scrambled to keep up with demand due to a labour shortage.
