Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police
RCMP NL is continuing the enforcement of impaired drivers with eight individuals arrested over this past weekend, four on Saturday and four on Sunday.
On Saturday, September 16, 2023, at approximately 7:15 p.m., Clarenville RCMP responded to the report of a two-vehicle collision in Arnold’s Cove. The driver of one of the involved vehicles, a 63-year-old-man, showed signs of alcohol impairment and failed a roadside breath test. At the detachment, he provided further breath samples that were nearly twice the legal limit.
Shortly after 9:00 p.m. in Harbour Grace, police received a report of a collision. A motorist had struck a parked vehicle. The driver, a 43-year-old woman, showed signs of alcohol impairment and refused to provide a roadside breath sample.
At approximately 10:30 p.m., while on patrol near North River, Bay Roberts RCMP observed a vehicle cross over the centre line. A traffic stop was conducted. The driver, a 36-year-old man, showed signs of alcohol impairment and failed a roadside breath test. At the detachment, he refused to provide further breath samples.
Approximately ten minutes later, RCMP Traffic Services Central stopped a vehicle on Bennett Drive in Gander. The driver, a 38-year-old man, showed signs of alcohol impairment and failed a roadside breath test. At the detachment, he provided further breath samples that were more than one and a half times the legal limit.
On Sunday, September 17, 2023, Holyrood RCMP were conducting an early morning check point near Harbour Main. Shortly before 1:30 a.m., a 44-year-old driver, who entered the check point, showed signs of alcohol impairment. He was arrested for impaired operation of a motor vehicle and provided breath samples that were above the legal limit.
The remaining three drivers were all arrested within an hour of each other, between 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m., on Sunday. A 52-year-old woman was arrested in her driveway following the report of a suspected impaired driver in Whitbourne. She refused to provide breath samples. A 59-year-old man, who crashed his all-terrain vehicle on Bell Island, was arrested by Bell Island RCMP for impaired driving and failed testing completed at the detachment. A 57-year-old man who had crashed his vehicle in Lethbridge failed a roadside breath test and was arrested by Clarenville RCMP. Following his release from hospital, he provided breath samples that were above the legal limit.
Each driver was released from custody and is set to appear in court at later dates to face various impaired driving related criminal charges. Vehicles were seized and licences were suspended.
RCMP NL thanks the public for continuing to report suspected impaired drivers and continues to fulfill its mandate to protect public safety, enforce the law, and ensure the delivery of priority policing services in Newfoundland and Labrador.