🚗 The end of prohibition and the beginning of Government controlled alcohol.
"Car Crashed into 4-Mile House (Today's 4-Mile Pub)"
Photo Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1926)
Victoria, British Columbia
June 8 - 11:15 pm
A man under the influence of alcohol was driving towards Victoria on the Island Highway (today's Old Island Highway). His large automobile suddenly left the road on 4-Mile Hill and hit a telephone pole at high speed. It spun out of control down a 35-foot stretch losing its roof and front windshield before broadsiding the corner of the 4-Mile House (today's 4-Mile Pub). The car had knocked out a support beam for the upper floor verandah alarming the hotel guests and nearby neighbours who rushed to the scene and found the driver still behind the wheel, drunk and with nothing more than a scratch on his face and finger. Moments after the police arrived at the scene, a truck carrying a cord of wood barreled down the same 4-Mile Hill and took the door off an automobile parked at the side of the road. The very next day, the drunk driver who smashed his car into the 4-Mile House was sentenced to two weeks in Burnaby's new Oakalla Prison. His car was ruined beyond repair.
"Police Issue Warnings"
Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1926)
Victoria, British Columbia
By the mid-1920s, the years of prohibition had come to an end in British Columbia and motoring was still evermore about leisure and bringing tourists (and their money) to the province. It was the 'Roaring 20s' after all, and driving was often associated with camping and drinking in the great outdoors. As for the 'menacing' drunk drivers who might cause a crash, the laws surrounding driving while under the influence of alcohol were still being worked out, often on a case-by-case basis.
The crash on 4-Mile Hill prompted police to crack down on speeders of the Island Highway, especially on Four-Mile Hill and the relatively new Malahat Drive where high-speed collisions were often fatal.
"Anti-Prohibitionists"
Clip: The Vancouver Sun (1921)
Vancouver, British Columbia
A voiced opinion about prohibition from afar. Scotland had strong opposition to prohibition.
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