With May long weekend around the corner, police are focusing on high-risk driving behaviors such as street racing, road rage and other extreme driving.
“We want everybody to have a safe weekend,” said Sgt. Derek Donovan of the West Kootenay Traffic Services, which is working with the Integrated Road Safety Unit this weekend with additional officers targeting impaired driving, aggressive drinking and seatbelt use.
Drivers who occasionally engage in these driving behaviors don’t consider themselves aggressive drivers, even though they tend to attribute bad driving behavior to other motorists, they indicated.
Police are encouraging drivers to follow some simple safety tips such as adjusting speed and keeping a safe distance between your vehicles and others, and if other drivers are following too close, safely move out of the way to allow them to pass.
They also wish to remind people that impaired driving remains the criminal cause of death in Canada as well as one of the leading causes of death among youth.
Drivers are asked to be patient this weekend as a large volume of recreational vehicles are expected to be on the roads traveling to camp sites throughout the West Kootenay.