A driver is handed a ticket at a RCMP Checkstop in December 2016. (RCMP / TWITTER FILE)
RCMP in Manitoba have charged 21 people with impaired driving during the first weekend of its 2017 Holiday Checkstop program.
The Mounties say between December 1-3, the drivers were caught drunk behind the wheel, while six alcohol-related suspensions were issued.
“It’s only week one of our Checkstop and we’re already seeing high numbers of intoxicated drivers behind the wheel. Be assured that our officers will be out in full force over the holidays to stop and arrest any driver that decides to drive impaired,” said Inspector Ed Moreland, officer in charge of Manitoba RCMP Traffic Services.
“We need Manitobans to plan ahead for a safe ride home to avoid serious, and even fatal, consequences.”
RCMP charged 122 with impaired driving during the 2016 program, and laid 60 alcohol- or drug-related suspensions.
Moreland added that there hasn’t been a single year in the past decade where someone hasn’t died on Manitoba roads during the holiday season.
The annual Checkstop program runs province-wide from December 1 to January 1.
