With festive parties and seasonal revelry underway, the RCMP are warning Manitoba drivers that, for the next few weeks, their checkstop campaign is also in full swing.

For the entire month of December, RCMP will be ramping up their efforts to discourage people from driving under the influence. Motorists can expect to see a greater police presence on rural roads and highways.

RCMP Traffic Services will be stopping drivers randomly and exercising their right to perform mandatory screenings for drugs and alcohol on every driver they stop.

“If enjoying your holiday season involves consuming drugs or alcohol, then we strongly encourage you to plan ahead so you have a safe ride home,” says Inspector Robert Wuskynyk, head of Manitoba RCMP Traffic Services. “You can avoid a criminal charge and save lives by arranging for a designated driver or calling a cab, rideshare, or Operation Red Nose to get you home.”

The consequence of impaired driving can include criminal charges, hefty fines, driver suspension, and vehicle impound.

It should go without saying that there can be negative emotional consequences, too, in the event that someone sustains an injury or dies as a result of a driver’s decision to get behind the wheel while intoxicated.

According to the Manitoba RCMP, drug or alcohol impairment was responsible for 21 fatal collisions last year, and another 43 collisions in which serious injuries occurred. 

Further, statistics from the MADD Canada website suggest that, in 2022, the number one killer of youth between the ages of 15 and 24 in Canada was vehicular crashes. Approximately half of those involved alcohol or drug impairment.

It’s a systemic issue, they say, with similar statistics in every province.

MADD estimates that approximately nine criminal charges or license suspensions involving alcohol or drugs are laid somewhere in the country every hour. That equates to an average of 215 impaired driving sanctions daily.

“These deaths and injuries were preventable,” states the RCMP media release. “Don’t get behind the wheel if you are under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Make the right decision that may save your life and the lives of others.”