VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The number of deadly crashes in BC due to alcohol consumption are down dramatically.

The Ministry of Justice says since the launch of the immediate roadside prohibition program, impaired driving crashes that result in a fatality have decreased by 46 per cent to an average of 62 per year, down from the previous 114.

News1130 legal analyst Michael Shapray is questioning whether that’s from people obeying the law or if it’s simply from more enforcement. “Prior statistics released show that there is tens of thousands of people receiving IRP’s, which seems to suggest there’s still a great number of people drinking and driving.

He says the government statistics aren’t backed up by any supporting data with respect to real decreases in drinking and driving.

The province claims a survey shows 30 per cent of people who responded have changed their behaviour because of the law.

The new legislation is being challenged in BC Supreme Court in the new year.