RCMP Constable Faz Majid removes an open bottle of beer from a motorist's car during a roadside check in Surrey, B.C., in September. The driver wasn't drinking, but was given a ticket for having open alcohol in the vehicle. Strict new drunk-driving laws, now considered to be the toughest in the country, took effect in B.C. this week.
Police in B.C. have handed out more than 21,000 tickets in the last six months to drivers who were speeding, impaired or using cellphones.
Most of the tickets, nearly 20,000, involved drivers using hand held devices, which were banned by a new law effective Feb. 1.
Police also issued more than 1,400 penalties for impaired driving and 435 fines for excessive speeding between September 20th and October 10th, as well as impounding nearly 1,700 vehicles during the same time period.
This came after B.C. brought in the toughest laws in Canada for impaired driving and speeding.
Solicitor General Mike de Jong says the number of offences is alarming and reflect the need to change dangerous driving behaviour.
The numbers were released Thursday at an ICBC road safety event in Richmond, where experts urged drivers to reducing speed for road conditions as the winter driving season arrives.