More than 430 vehicles were stopped and checked in Lloydminster, Onion Lake and surrounding Saskatchewan communities during a four-day traffic safety initiative led by Saskatchewan RCMP.
Saskatchewan RCMP’s Saskatoon and Maidstone Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan teams conducted proactive patrols and a check stop between Jan. 14 and Jan. 18 in the Lloydminster, Maidstone, Onion Lake, Turtleford, Cut Knife and Battlefords detachment areas.
During the initiative, officers checked approximately 430 vehicles for safety concerns, including impairment by alcohol or drugs.
As a result of the enforcement effort, officers charged one driver under the Criminal Code for alcohol-related impaired driving, issued 31 roadside licence suspensions, laid 302 tickets and handed out 311 warnings.
Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers with the Provincial Protective Services Branch assisted RCMP during a check stop held Jan. 15 and 16 in the Maidstone detachment area.
The northwest Saskatchewan enforcement coincided with a separate traffic safety initiative in central and northern Saskatchewan, where RCMP patrols stretched from Melfort to La Ronge between Jan. 16 and Jan. 18.
In that three-day operation, RCMP’s Melfort and Prince Albert CTSS teams checked approximately 80 vehicles and conducted about 80 mandatory alcohol screening tests.
That initiative resulted in 10 roadside licence suspensions, four Criminal Code impaired driving charges, the impoundment of 16 vehicles and one ATV, 71 tickets and 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.
“Every vehicle we stop gives officers an opportunity to prevent a serious incident, such as identifying a potential impaired driver,” Knelsen said. “We want to thank the public and our partner agencies for their ongoing support as we work to get everyone to their destination safely.”
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