Holiday checkstop underway

Details

Published on Thursday, December 18, 2014

By Tara Seel

      Media Relations Officer

This is certainly the time of year to be merry and bright, but don’t consume any holiday spirits before getting in the driver’s seat! Far too many people are still choosing high-risk behaviour and are driving impaired. This year in Manitoba 35 per cent of traffic fatalities (25 fatalities) have involved impaired drivers. These are completely preventable tragedies.

RCMP have charged 1,479 impaired drivers year-to-date (Dec. 5), but zero is the number to strive for. RCMP, the province of Manitoba and Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) will never stop working to get impaired drivers off the road.

Checkstop 2014 will run from Dec. 1 to Jan. 1 and will focus on the detection of high-risk drivers, including those who are impaired, not buckled up, speeding or driving while distracted. 

“Some of your fellow Manitobans are not getting home to their families because of impaired drivers, and RCMP has made it a national priority to change that,” says assistant commissioner Kevin Brosseau, commanding officer of RCMP D Division. “RCMP is taking an all-hands-on-deck approach to looking for people on Manitoba roadways who are choosing to practise high-risk driving behaviours. This approach includes me getting out there tonight on the highways and assisting my officers in keeping the roads safe.”

Justice Minister James Allum says,“Safe and responsible driving is a choice that every Manitoban needs to make this holiday season. The Checkstop campaign helps remind us of the serious, sometimes fatal, consequences of impaired driving and other dangerous driving behaviours. Please consider your safety, and the safety of everyone else on the road, before getting behind the wheel.”

All detachments and traffic units in the province will be taking part in the campaign through extra Checkstops and patrols, funded in part by MPI.During the 2013 Checkstop campaign, RCMP checked more than 10,000 vehicles through 357 Checkstops, and charged 110 people with Criminal Code Impaired Driving offences during the holiday season.Let’s all do our part and keep the roads safe: drive sober, stay focused, slow down, buckle up and if you suspect someone of driving impaired, call 911.

Week One (Dec. 1-7) of the RCMP Holiday Checkstop Program resulted in 2,164 vehicles being stopped at 80 Checkstops. Eighteen people were charged with either impaired driving (alcohol) or driving over the legal limit of .08, and two people were charged with refusing a breath demand.  The average blood/alcohol reading was 0.160 – twice the legal limit; the highest blood/alcohol reading was 0.220. There were also three people charged with impaired driving by drugs. 

Fifteen alcohol-related and three drug-related tiered administrative roadside suspensions were issued and 271 other traffic-related provincial statute (Highway Traffic Act) charges were laid. Six Liquor & Gaming Control Act offences were noted and there were sixother criminal code driving offences. 

There were no traffic-related fatalities during the past week! Last year during Week One there were two traffic-related fatalities and RCMP conducted 109 checkstops (3,541 vehicles) resulting in 24 charges of impaired driving.

Week Two (Dec. 8-14)  resulted in 2,883 vehicles being checked at 71 Checkstops. Twenty-five people were charged with either impaired driving (alcohol) or driving over the legal limit of .08, and like Week One, two people were charged with refusing a breath demand.The average blood/alcohol reading was 0.150, a slight drop from Week One; the highest blood/alcohol reading was 0.240, exactly three times the legal limit. Two people were charged with impaired driving by drugs.

Ten alcohol-related tiered administrative roadside suspensions were issued and 438 other traffic-related charges were made. There were four each for Liquor & Gaming Control Act offences and other criminal code driving offences. 

Again, there were no traffic related fatalities during the past week! Last year during Week Two, there were two traffic-related fatalities and RCMP held 80 Checkstops (1,795 vehicles) resulting in 16 charges of impaired driving.

During Week Two this year, Spruce Plains RCMP also reported a drug seizure of 82 grams of marijuana, as a result of a traffic stop.

RCMP wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season.