A lot of accidents on the road happened because drivers are in a hurry, distracted or simply intentionally do not follow the rules and regulations. Every year, about 421,000 people are injured in crashes that have involved a driver who was distracted in some way.
Unfortunately, a lot of those drivers are teenagers, who are not just irresponsible to their own vehicles and lives, but to other people’s health and lives as well. Some drivers just really don’t care about the rules and driving regulations, they do not care for their own safety and their passengers, friends and family members.
“The message has been consistent: don’t drive impaired,” Carver said. “I noticed that we stopped over 2,000 vehicles as opposed to about 1,300 last year. Way more vehicles and the numbers are fairly flat so maybe that’s a good sign.”
Winnipeg police say they stopped a total of 7,667 vehicles. Of that number, 424 roadside breath tests were administered, resulting in 40 warnings and eight drivers failing.
Police laid 41 impaired driving charges, including two for drug-impaired driving, as well as issuing 242 tickets and making 11 other criminal arrests. Four drivers tested positive for cannabis using the new oral fluid device test. According to police, a wide range of Winnipeggers were busted during the campaign. The youngest driver was 16, and the oldest was 74.
On December 18th harsher impaired driving laws came into effect across the country. Law enforcement agencies are now able to demand a breathalyzer test even if a driver isn’t showing any signs of impairment.
In addition to the new screening for suspected impaired drivers, Manitoba also brought in stricter penalties for impaired driving.
In December of 2018, a new program launched in Winnipeg to identify drivers who use cannabis or cocaine, using modern detectors Drager DrugTest 5000. In the process of preparation, the police service has acquired - and is currently engaged in training officers - new mobile devices for drug screening.
According to the information on the manufacturer’s website, Drager DrugTest 5000 uses oral fluid to test seven types of the most commonly used drugs. The police will use it to test for cannabis and cocaine.
Drager uses a swab moistened in the mouth to analyze substances on the spot, offering an alternative to collecting urine or blood samples, according to the instrument manual.
The police service bought seven such testers for $ 5000 each and brought them to the provinces on Saturday, December 1st. They will be used along with standard breath testers to determine alcohol. In addition, the police will use other drug screening equipment as additional tools to identify drivers affected by cannabis or cocaine.
Tougher distracted driving laws also came into effect on November 1st. Anyone caught using a cellphone while driving gets an automatic three-day license suspension, five demerit points and a fine of $672.
The program was held day throughout December of 2018. So fellow Winnipeggers please don’t text and drive, keep our roads safe and easy to drive. Let’s all be responsible drivers and care for each other, so at the end of the day, we can all come back home to our loved ones.