Winnipeg Police Service and RCMP share results from holiday season Checkstop program

Results are in for Winnipeg Police Service and RCMP’s Festive Season Checkstop program, a program designed to help crack down on impaired driving during the holiday season.

Winnipeg Police Service’s holiday check stop program resulted in an increase of impaired driving charges.

The program included a greater police presence on roads across the province, and mandatory alcohol screening for anyone stopped.

Officers also had access to approved drug screening equipment to identify drivers under the influence of drugs.

Throughout the Checkstop program, officers stopped 3933 vehicles and 124 drivers were found under the influence of alcohol/drugs.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that using the mandatory alcohol screening authority we were able to ensure that no one who was under the influence of alcohol was slipping through the cracks,” said Stephane Fontaine, Patrol Sergeant at Winnipeg Police Service.

The stops included 18 people charged with criminal impaired driving (4 suspected drug impaired drivers), 106 immediate roadside prohibitions, 12 people who failed drug screening tests (11 positive for cannabis, 1 positive for cocaine), and 93 traffic offence tickets.

“We hate to say we were successful because that means that were catching impaired drivers and our goal is always to hopefully not have any to catch,” said Fontaine.

The highest recorded blood alcohol concentration was 270 mg%, more than three times the statutory limit.

“It is very easy for them to determine if they’re intoxicated which was evident from some of the numbers, I did see that there was one individual that blew three times the legal limit, that is outrageous,” said Trevor Ens, President of MADD Winnipeg. 

The program concluded that eight impaired drivers were involved in collisions and four drivers were intoxicated to the point that they were found unconscious behind the wheel.

The overall average age was 34-year-old, while the youngest was 16-year-old and oldest 49-year-old.  

Impaired driving is a contributing factor in nearly one-third of all traffic fatalities in Manitoba.

Operation Red Nose, a service that offers free rides for people drinking over the holiday season, says they’ve seen a decrease in demand this year, making these statistics extra disappointing to see.

“It’s always frustrating to see those numbers grow, our organization takes this kind of safety risk very seriously,” said Elisha Dacey, Volunteer Media Coordinator at Operation Red Nose Winnipeg.

Despite the numbers increasing, MADD Winnipeg says mandatory screening is a step in the right direction and they’re hopeful one day these numbers will be at zero.

“The message is out there, the government is out there, sanctions are out there, we do believe the message is getting through,” said Ens.