Fewer impaired charges during 2019 Manitoba checkstop campaign, but traffic fatalities up sharply from 2018

Manitoba RCMP say they charged fewer people with impaired driving during this season's checkstop program than the year before but the number of traffic-related fatalities during the month-long program more than doubled.

On Tuesday, RCMP released results of the annualprogram, which runs for the entire month of December to dissuade people from driving home after drinking.

This year, 11,477 vehicles were checked during 386 checkstops, police said.

In total, 80 people were charged with impaired driving. The majority of those charges werealcohol-related. Two of the charges were drug-related, and11 drivers were charged after they refused a test.

RCMP issued 27 alcohol- or drug-related roadside suspensions, and 17 roadside prohibitions which means drivers lost their driving privileges for certain amounts of time.

The number of charges and suspensions wasdown from the 2018 checkstop program, during which Mounties charged 105 people with impaired drivingand issued32 alcohol- or drug-related suspensions. From Dec. 1, 2018, to Jan. 1, 2019, RCMP checked 11,714 vehicles at 262 checkstops.

However, 11 people were killed in nine separate traffic-related collisions last month, RCMP said. That number is up from five traffic fatalities during the 2018 checkstop program period.

Final week results

RCMP have been providing weekly statistics regarding the checkstop program.

Police released the final update Tuesday, along with the overall statistics.

Between Dec. 23, 2019 and Jan. 1, 2020 the final week of this season's program more than2,190 vehicles passed through 80 checkstops across Manitoba.

Twenty people were charged with impaired driving that week 16 due to their blood-alcohol level, and another four who refused to take a test.

Seven drivers received alcohol- or drug-related roadside suspensions, and the highest blood-alcohol reading was 0.220 nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08.