December was a busy month for BC Highway Patrol as more than 100 impaired drivers were taken off the streets in the Okanagan.

In BC Highway Patrol's South East Central district, which includes Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops, Clearwater and the supporting area, 81 prohibitions were handed out. This district led the province in violations in December.

In the South East Kootenay district, including Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Grand Forks, and east to Alberta, 36 people were caught driving impaired.

This province-wide initiative was part of the annual Winter Impaired Driving Campaign, in support of National Impaired Driving Prevention Month that features enhanced enforcement through check stops and patrols.

"The Winter Impaired Driving Campaign clearly shows that education is not enough for people who choose to drive while impaired," said Supt. Mike Coyle, Acting Officer in Charge of BC Highway Patrol. "Nobody is surprised when they fail a roadside screening device and their vehicle is towed. Enforcement is a necessary follow-up to education."

Across the entire province, BC Highway Patrol took an impaired driver off the streets every three hours, for 31 days straight.

These numbers do not include impaired drivers taken off the road by large municipal and RCMP traffic enforcement units.

The Winter Impaired Driving Campaign is BC Highway Patrol's second busiest campaign of the year.