Impaired driving charges in Timmins have already surpassed last year’s total

The Timmins Police Service said the local impaired driving statistic for 2024 has already surpassed last year’s total.

So far this year police, said 45 motorists have been charged with impaired driving, compared to 42 in all of 2023.

"If you're stopped for a lawful reason by the police, the police have the ability through mandatory alcohol screening to ask that you provide a sample of your breath to detect if there's any alcohol in your system," said Staff Sgt. Mike Fortin of the Timmins Police Service.

"Refusing to do so would lead to criminal charges of refusing a lawful demand."

Fortin said officers are seeing more people driving drunk and/or under the influence of drugs during their patrols.

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"Some of the signs that we look for while on patrol would be somebody driving abnormally slow, somebody weaving in and out of traffic in an unsafe manner, going too close to the shoulder, crossing the yellow line, that kind of driving behaviour," he said.

Police officials said drug-impaired driving is up 20 per cent in Canada and 34 per cent of all road fatalities in the country involve an impaired driver.