RCMP charge 14 with impaired driving in December

Over December RCMP across the territory conducted 102 impaired driving check stops.

In total, 1830 cars were stopped and numerous charges, tickets, suspensions, and warnings were given between December 1 and 31.

Across the NWT, RCMP said they laid 14 impaired driving charges, issued 69 violation tickets and 13 24-hour suspensions, and gave 196 warnings. Of the suspensions, four were drug-related.

A third of the impaired driving charges were laid in Yellowknife, where RCMP said they laid five impaired driving charges, issued 21 violations tickets and seven 24-hour suspensions (three of which were drug-related), and gave 50 warnings.

On December 18, RCMP also began conducting Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) on drivers.

Under Bill C-46, police can now require breath samples from drivers lawfully stopped, such as following an observed infraction, like not stopping at a stop sign; or during a traffic stop.

In 2017, police charged 22 people across the NWT with impaired driving during Operation Gingerbread, compared to 29 people the year before.

This means the number dropped again in 2018 to just 14 people charged, while the number of cars stopped increased by over 300 from 2017.

Correction January 11, 14:30 – Following the publication of this article, RCMP clarified that the numbers they provided for Yellowknife were included in the numbers they provided for the territory. Previously, the article stated that 19 impaired driving charges were laid (adding 14 charges to Yellowknife’s five charges), but the correct number is in fact 14.