Grand Forks RCMP had a busy weekend dealing with multiple impaired drivers on the city’s streets.
Between late Friday night and early Sunday morning, officers removed five impaired drivers from the road. The first stop occurred on Friday, Nov. 22 at 10:45 p.m. and the 5th stop was Sunday, Nov. 24 at 2:40 a.m., according to a news release from the detachment.
The first impaired on Nov. 22 occurred with a traffic stop at 10:45 p.m. at the corner of 66th Avenue and 14th Street. The driver, a 29-year-old man from Grand Forks, claimed he hadn’t been drinking and was coming from work. Officers gave him a roadside breath test which resulted in a Fail reading, then a Warn on the second test. A Fail means that the man’s blood/alcohol level is at least 100 mg reading, and a Warn means you are between 60 mg and 99 mg. Officers will proceed on the lowest reading and issued the driver a 3-day driving prohibition and had the vehicle impounded.
The second happened on Nov. 23 at 9:05 p.m., when officers stopped a vehicle between the corner of Central Avenue and 19th Street as they noted the vehicle had its taillights off. The driver, a 29-year-old man from Grand Forks, claimed he hadn’t been drinking. A roadside breath test quickly proved that wrong when he provided 2 Fail samples. The driver was issued a 90-day driving prohibition and had his vehicle impounded for 30 days.
Later that night at 11:15 p.m., police stopped a vehicle on 68th Avenue and 19th Street. The driver, a 25-year-old woman from Grand Forks, stated she had one glass of wine an hour prior to the stop. The woman was given a roadside test which resulted in two Fail readings. She was then issued a 90-day driving prohibition and a 30-day vehicle impound.
On Nov. 24 at 1:10 a.m., a vehicle was stopped between 72nd Avenue and 19th Street. The driver, a 30-year-old man from Grand Forks said he hadn’t been drinking, but underwent a breath test and failed both. He was then given a 90-day driving prohibition and 30-day vehicle impound.
Later that morning, at 2: 40 a.m., officers stopped their 5th vehicle between 68th Avenue and 25th Street. The 24-year-old man from Grand Forks behind the wheel was given a roadside test which resulted in a Fail reading. As this driver had a previous impaired driving conviction within five years, officers elected to proceed with a criminal investigation where he was brought back to the Detachment and provided samples of his breath.
The results were once again over the legal limit and police will be recommending criminal charges of Driving while impaired and Drive over 80 mg%.
"This is the time of year that police are known to ramp up their vehicle stops looking for impaired drivers," stated Sergeant Darryl Peppler in a news release. "It astounds me that so many people are still making these bad and potentially dangerous decisions to drive while impaired."
During the month of December, Grand Forks RCMP will be having dedicated shifts for officers focusing on preventing and if necessary, removing impaired drivers from the road. Grand Forks Detachment will also be bringing in additional resources from other communities to assist local police.
