RCMP say they have charged 179 Nova Scotians with offences related to impaired driving in October.
Police say 82 drivers were charged with impaired driving by alcohol, and 69 were issued driving suspensions for driving while having consumed alcohol.
Three drivers were charged with driving while impaired by a drug.
Twenty-five drivers were charged with refusing a demand made by a peace officer.
“Failure or refusal to comply with a demand made by a peace officer for a sample for testing sobriety can result in criminal charges that have the same penalties as impaired driving,” the RCMP said in a Monday release.
The RCMP say investigations into impaired driving can be complex.
“In Nova Scotia, there are approximately 250 RCMP members with training related to drug-impaired driving, 33 of whom are Drug Recognition Experts (DREs).”
In Canada, the legal blood alcohol concentration limit is 80, but suspensions are issued between 50 and 80 in Nova Scotia, according to the province’s website.
The province says individuals who are convicted of impaired driving by having a blood alcohol concentration over 80 will:
- Be issued a minimum $1,000 fine
- Be prohibited from driving in Canada for a minimum of one year
- Have their licence revoked under N.S. law for a minimum of one year
- Be subject to licence restoration requirements
Police say these are the signs of an impaired driver:
- Driving unreasonably fast, slow or at an inconsistent speed
- Drifting in and out of lanes
- Tailgating and changing lanes frequently
- Making exceptionally wide turns
- Changing lanes or passing without sufficient clearance
- Overshooting or stopping well before stop signs or stop lights
- Disregarding signals and lights
- Approaching signals or leaving intersections too quickly or slowly
- Driving without headlights, failing to lower high beams or leaving turn signals on
- Driving with windows open in cold or inclement weather
Police ask anyone who sees a potentially impaired driver to call 911 and provide a location, a description of the vehicle, a licence plate number, colour, make and model, the direction the vehicle is going in and a description of the driver.
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