KELOWNA – Local police officers were recognized Wednesday for getting drunks off the road in memory of Alexa Middelaer who was killed by a drunk driver eight years ago.
However, even as authorities praise the work of local police officers some argue the province’s drunk driving laws are too weak.
Constable Gary McLaughlin was one of several officers who received an award Wednesday.
He pulled over 50 drunk drivers last year in the north Okanagan. He says several of them were repeat offenders and one in particular comes to mind.
“I stopped him [in] the middle of the afternoon in Lumby. They said they had nothing to drink. I asked him to exit the vehicle and when they did they had beer cans pinned against the door that pored all over my pants on the side of the road and it was their third impaired,” said McLaughlin.
Because it was that driver’s third strike, under B.C.’s drunk driving law, he’s facing a 30-day ban and a $400 fine.
If he’s convicted in court, he could spend 120 days in jail.
However, if it was his first offence, he would have been issued an immediate roadside prohibition with no criminal record.
Criminal lawyer Wade Jenson, is no fan of B.C.’s drunk driving laws. He describes getting an immediate roadside prohibition as a mulligan effectively giving people caught driving impaired another chance.
“B.C. has the weakest drunk driving laws in the entire country,” said Jenson.
– with files from Kelly Hayes
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