Saskatchewan RCMP checked more than 500 vehicles during a traffic safety initiative to promote safe driving across central and northern parts of the province.
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Saskatchewan RCMP’s Saskatoon and Maidstone CTSS teams conducted a separate traffic safety initiative in the Lloydminster, Maidstone, Onion Lake, Turtleford, Cut Knife and Battlefords detachment areas.
Between Jan. 14 and Jan. 18, officers conducted check stops and patrols, checking for road safety concerns. During the four-day initiative, about 430 vehicles were checked.
Police charged one driver under the Criminal Code for alcohol-related impaired driving and issued 31 roadside licence suspensions. Officers also issued 302 tickets and 311 warnings.
Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers with the Provincial Protective Services Branch assisted Saskatoon and Maidstone CTSS teams during a check stop held Jan. 15 and 16 in the Maidstone detachment area.
Around the same time, Between Jan. 16 and Jan. 18, Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) teams based in Melfort and Prince Albert conducted proactive patrols from Melfort to La Ronge and surrounding areas. Officers stopped vehicles to check for unsafe driving behaviours, including impairment by alcohol or drugs.
Over the three-day initiative, Melfort and Prince Albert CTSS officers checked about 80 vehicles and conducted 80 mandatory alcohol screening tests.
As a result of those patrols, police issued 10 roadside licence suspensions after determining drivers had recently consumed alcohol or drugs. Four drivers were charged under the Criminal Code for alcohol-or-drug-related impaired driving. Officers also impounded 16 vehicles and one all-terrain vehicle, issued 71 tickets and handed out 111 warnings.
“These numbers represent only a snapshot of the work our CTSS teams — alongside detachments across Saskatchewan — do every day to keep our roads safe,” said Insp. Lee Knelsen, operations officer with Saskatchewan RCMP Traffic Services, in a statement.
“Every vehicle we stop gives officers an opportunity to prevent a serious incident, such as identifying a potential impaired driver.”
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