Local volunteers and police officers were out in force over the holidays in an effort to make sure everyone made it home safely.
Delta police spokesperson Const. Ciaran Feenan said it appears people are getting the message as police are seeing fewer impaired drivers on the roads.
"It was a successful campaign," Feenan said. "Ultimately the numbers are down... That means people are being responsible."
Delta police set up CounterAttack checkpoints at various locations throughout the holiday season, screening a total of 5,630 drivers. Of that, 63 were asked to give a breath sample, which means an officer had reason to believe the driver might have consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel.
One person was arrested for impaired driving, while three others were issued 24hour roadside suspensions, which means the roadside breath screening device registered a warn or a fail.
Feenan also noted that officers issued two 24hour suspensions to drivers impaired by drugs.
In 2011, 107 drivers were asked to give a breath sample with six registering a warn, six registering a fail and one refusing to take the test for a total of 13 impaired drivers.
In addition to looking for impaired drivers, officers were also on the lookout for a variety of other infractions. Feenan said during the CounterAttack campaign, police impounded 31 vehicles for a variety of reasons, handed out 54 tickets and 11 warnings, and arrested four people on outstanding warrants.
Operation Red Nose volunteers were out once again helping holiday revelers and their passengers get home safely.
This year, 409 volunteers, which made up 130 teams, gave 666 rides and drove more than 21,100 kilometres.
With an average of three people per ride, that's 2,000 people that got home safely, said Carlene Lewall, Delta-Richmond Operation Red Nose chair.
In return, clients donated $19,526.
Those numbers are up over 2011 and 2010, which saw a spike in the number of rides after the implementation of new impaired driving penalties. In 2011, Delta-Richmond Operation Red Nose gave 644 rides while 2010 saw 650 rides.
