Last weekend (December 1-3), Cochrane RCMP stopped over one thousand vehicles as part of a holiday check stop blitz to deter drinking/drug-impaired driving

As the first weekend out Cochrane RCMP, Sergeant Dave Hardy says they were pleasantly surprised with the results. "In the end, the results were pretty good. We processed four provincial sanction suspensions, two were GDL drivers (Graduated Driver Licensing) that aren't supposed to have any alcohol in their system and two were drivers that recorded a sample between 50 and 80 milligrams. We also intercepted one impaired driver who refused a breath sample and that person was charged under the criminal code."

Check stops over the weekend also led RCMP to process four suspended drivers and execute ten outstanding warrants, says Sgt. Hardy, which wasn't too bad in comparison to the number of checked vehicles. "Overall there wasn't a terrible amount of alcohol enforcement. It was good to see only the one impaired refusal charge out of those many vehicles, so it appears the message is out there. There seem to be other issues out there than the alcohol and drug driving, which is good, and we hope to see that continue throughout the holiday season."

While almost all drivers were compliant proceeding through the various check stop points, Hardy, says if you think you can out beat them, guess again. "The one person that did try and turn around was the one person that was actually impaired. So if you do turn around, it can be a tough turnaround and you're going to get intercepted anyways. You will get caught, it actually stands out, and it's pretty good odds that there is going to be an issue." 

On another positive note, RCMP shares they did not attend to any motor vehicle collisions involving impaired driving over the weekend. With another weekend of Christmas parties coming up, Sergeant Hardy, says be prepared to stop as they continue to crack down on drivers not getting the message.