If you’re planning to drive this holiday season, make sure you’re not doing it impaired.
That’s the message from the Manitoba RCMP and Winnipeg Police Service, who launched their joint holiday checkstop program Friday in Headingley.
According to RCMP stats, 143 people have died in impairment-related crashes in Manitoba over the past five years, and 109 people have died in crashes overall in 2023.
“All the deaths we are seeing on the roadways, all the life-altering injuries – they are all avoidable,” RCMP Insp. Michael Gagliardi said when the program launched Friday.
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“The answer is simple: Choice. If people make a choice not to drive impaired, not to speed, and to buckle up and pay attention, lives can be saved. It is that easy. Our officers will be out there conducting checkstops to help people make those safe choices.”
Manitoba’s new justice minister Matt Wiebe urged Manitobans to make plans to get home safely if they’ve been drinking.
“The only number of drinks guaranteed to keep you safe behind the wheel is zero,” he said. “If you know you’ll be drinking, call a cab or Operation Red Nose, take the bus, or stay the night. Together, we can help keep Manitobans safe on our roads.”
Police will release final numbers from the checkstop program after it wraps up at the end of December.