Operation Red Nose

Operation Red Nose is a free volunteer driving service available in B.C. during the holiday season.

Named in honour of the most-famous reindeer of all (Rudolph), Operation Red Nose provides free rides to drivers and their passengers who are impaired or too tired to drive home during the holiday season.

In 2012, 4,555 dedicated volunteers across 25 B.C. communities drove 204,638 kms and gave 8,082 rides to get people and their vehicles home safely.

ICBC has been a proud supporter of Operation Red Nose since 1996. We invest in programs like ORN to help change driver behaviour and make our roads safer for everyone. We support ORN by:

• providing vehicle insurance to protect volunteers and their passengers;
• producing promotional materials to raise awareness about the campaign;
• encouraging our employees to volunteer for ORN in their communities.

Communities with Operation Red Nose

B.C. is one of the eight provinces across Canada participating in Operation Red Nose. In the 18 years that ICBC has supported ORN in our province, it has grown from just two communities to 25 and provided over 65,590 safe rides home. We were pleased to see the program grow again in 2012, with Burnaby and New Westminster joining the list of over 100 participating communities across the country.

Between November 30 and December 31, 2012, the service was available in the following B.C. communities:

• Abbotsford/Mission
• Burnaby
• Chilliwack
• Delta/Richmond
• Kamloops
• Langley/Surrey
• Nanaimo
• New Westminster
• North Shore (North Vancouver & West Vancouver)
• Prince George
• Ridge Meadows
• Tri-Cities (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody and surrounding communities)
• Williams Lake

How it works

Just call 1-877-604-NOSE and a team of three ORN volunteers will help you get home safely. One volunteer drives the client’s vehicle, a second volunteer navigates; a third follows in an escort vehicle to pick up the two volunteers once they drop off the client.

How you can help

The success of Operation Red Nose is wholly dependent on the people who volunteer for the program. It’s a great way to give back to your community while helping to keep our roads safe over the holidays. For more information on how to volunteer as an individual or part of a team in 2013, visit the Operation Red Nose site.

Donations to Operation Red Nose are gratefully accepted and help fund local youth sports, and other not-for-profit organizations.