The Prince George Regional Traffic Services in Quesnel (PGRTS) spent approximately 24 hours running 19 different roadblocks this holiday season.
In the month of December, 11 impaired drivers had their vehicles impounded and were prohibited from driving for varying lengths of time.
Const. Rob Marshall of the PGRTS in Quesnel says the RCMP initiated five impaired driving investigations during the month, meaning they issued either a breathalyzer test or a field sobriety test for someone suspected to be high on drugs. Field sobriety tests can include asking someone to follow the tip of a pen with their eyes, or walk heel to toe in a line.
The other six violations were issued under Section 81 of the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act, which Marshall says means they had open cannabis within arm’s reach of the driver or passenger. It is illegal for a driver or passenger to have open cannabis in a vehicle.
Four driving suspensions were handed out, and five driving while prohibited charges were passed on to Crown Counsel. Someone who is charged with driving while prohibited either did not have their licence, or for another reason should not have been driving.
There was also one 24-hour driving suspension due to drugs.
Comparatively, there were 12 roadside prohibitions handed out in Williams Lake in the same time period.
In Williams Lake, eight different drivers failed breathalyzer tests. An additional six drivers received a warning based on their breathalyzer tests.
RELATED: Quesnel Volunteer Fire Department responded to almost 500 fire calls in 2018
editor@quesnelobserver.com
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