British Columbia RCMP have released some of their more amusing stories from the Traffic Services division in the wake of their Winter CounterAttack Impaired Driving Campaign. An officer in Cranbrook pulled over a driver known to drive impaired and when he read the driver the roadside breath demand, the motorist refused. He then told the officer that refusal to not provide a breath sample wasn’t a criminal code offence and he could only be issued a 90 day roadside prohibition. The officer chose to follow the law and charged him criminally with refusing to supply breath samples. A short time later, after being dropped at home, the driver called the RCMP detachment to report his vehicle stolen.

Meanwhile, officers working in the Ladysmith area on Vancouver Island encountered one individual who came through a road check not once but twice. The first time the driver stopped for the officer but drove off when asked to pull to the side of the road. But then, the same driver came through the road check a second time stopping long enough to hand his driver’s license to the officer before fleeing again. Instead of pursuing and risking public safety, the officer went to this driver’s home a few days later and served him with numerous violation tickets and a four month driving prohibition.