RCMP NL conducted a number of checkpoints throughout the province on Saturday for National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day. With four arrests made, police were happy to find that a vast majority of drivers were unimpaired and had legal driving requirements in place.
RCMP Traffic Services East partnered with the RNC and MADD Canada and set up a large-scale check point on the Trans-Canada Highway at the Foxtrap Weigh Scales. The RCMP Mobile Command Centre was on site and was fully equipped to process impaired drivers. Two men, ages 57 and 65, were arrested after testing positive for cannabis on roadside drug screening equipment. Both were transported to hospital where blood samples were collected. Officers await the results of the testing to determine if charges of impaired driving are appropriate. A 61-year-old man was issued a 7-day licence suspension after providing a roadside breath sample that was above the provincial limit. Later in the evening, the checkpoint location moved to Bay Roberts. Between the two locations, more than a thousand vehicles were checked.
In Clarenville, a 60-year-old man failed a roadside breath test, was arrested by Clarenville RCMP for impaired driving and was transported to the detachment for further breath samples. Samples collected at the detachment were just under the criminal limit but were above the provincial limit. The man was issued a 7-day licence suspension and his vehicle was seized and impounded.
RCMP Traffic Services West arrested a 54-year-old man in Cormack for drug impairment after poor performance of roadside sobriety tests. The man was transported to the detachment and completed a drug influence evaluation. Officers await the results of the testing to determine if charges of impaired driving are appropriate.
Checkpoints were also conducted in Nain, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Gander, Joe Batts Arm, Burin, Mooring Cove and Salt Pond. A number of vehicles, including snowmobiles, off-road vehicles and motor vehicles, were checked and all drivers were found to be driving unimpaired.
In 2021, 398 drivers were charged by RCMP NL for impaired driving offences. RCMP NL remains dedicated to road safety on National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day and throughout the year. If you suspect a driver is impaired, please call 911 or your local police as soon as possible to make a report.