A BC Highway Patrol road safety operation in the Okanagan has intercepted 18 impaired drivers and issued 35 tickets to commercial drivers in a bid to get drivers to be safer on the roads.
“Many people don’t realize that BC Highway Patrol is trained to do more than look for unsafe driving behaviour,
” said Inspector Lori Orstad, the Officer in Charge of Special Traffic Operations at BC Highway Patrol. “We have officers trained in security awareness and crime-detection techniques for identifying traveling criminals and we also use drug-detection dogs.
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This most recent operation went from March 16 to March 20, 2025, and involved the BC Highway Patrol Integrated Impaired Driving Unit and the Traffic Safety Unit – Police Dog Service and officers from local Okanagan detachments.
The enforcement operation included the following: Commercial vehicles removed from service: 2. Impaired driving prohibitions: 18; Files involving drug seizures and seizures of contraband tobacco: 27; Tickets issued to commercial vehicles and their drivers: 35; and Commercial vehicles removed from service: 2.
While this operation focused on West Kelowna, Osoyoos and Penticton, BC Highway Patrol launches surprise road safety efforts all over the province at all times of the year.
