WINNIPEG — In the past five years, roughly 250 Manitobans have been killed in drunk driving crashes.
Starting Tuesday, people who get behind the wheel while impaired will feel the consequences more than ever before.
First time offenders will have their drivers licenses taken away for three days compared to the previous 24 hour suspension.
For a person under 16 years of age, the previous three day suspension is increased to a week and convicted impaired drivers will have to use an ignition interlock breathalyzer before their vehicle will start once they’ve served their sentence.
“People are saying stop killing us, stop killing our loved ones,” said Justice Minister Gord Mackintosh. “For people in rural Manitoba where there is no taxi service, getting to work will be a challenge.”
The changes to the Safer Roads Act were announced in June and took affect Tuesday morning.
“It’s still the number one criminal cause of death in Manitoba. We still have a long ways to go but Manitoba just got a whole lot safer today,” said Melody Bodnarchuk, President, Manitoba chapter, MADD Canada. Bodnarchuk’s nephew was killed by a drunk driver in November 2010.
RCMP will be out on the roads in Manitoba starting their holiday check stop program on December 4th.
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