The Christmas season is over and while thousands took advantage of Operation Red Nose again this year, or other ways to get home from holiday festivities, Delta police were out in force to make sure those on the road were not impaired.
Between Nov. 18 and Dec. 31, Delta police officers set up CounterAttack checkpoints at various locations throughout the community. In all, about 4,000 drivers passed through the roadblocks.
Of that, 107 were asked to give a breath sample, which means an officer had reason to suspect the driver had consumed alcohol. Of the drivers asked to take the breath test, 94 passed, six registered a warn, six registered a fail and one refused to take the test.
In addition to impaired drivers, officers were also on the lookout for other violations, handing out 117 tickets and 56 warnings for various offences.
Operation Red Nose volunteers were once again busy helping holiday revelers and their passengers get home safely.
This year volunteers drove more than 20,000 kilometres, gave 644 rides and accepted more than $18,000 in donations.
The program, which usually runs from mid-November until New Year's Eve, saw a spike in numbers in 2010 after the B.C. government introduced tougher impaired driving penalties.
There was a slight decline this year, as people have adjusted to the new legislation, said Carlene Lewall, chair of Operation Red Nose Delta-Richmond.
In 2010, Operation Red Nose volunteers in Delta and Richmond provided 650 rides home.
"However, there aren't any statistics for the number of lives we might have saved by offering this service and we like it that way," Lewall said. "We are rewarded every time we see a thankful customer driven to his or her home with their car and knowing that they and their families will wake up in the morning safely at home."
Last year marked the 10th for Operation Red Nose Delta-Richmond. During that time more than 2,600 volunteers have driven more than 130,000 kilometres, which equates to about three times the circumference of the Earth, and helped thousands of people make it home safely.
