Police rounded up another 11 motorists arrested on suspicion of driving whilst impaired during several checkpoints this past weekend.
Acting Superintendent Robert Cardwell, of the Tactical Operations Division, was quick to note that the road’side sobriety testing as advertised in advance of the dates set.
“In this period, 1,868 engagements were recorded,” he said.
“An engagement is a conversation between a police officer and a motorist where a sobriety assessment is conducted.
“Twenty-four (24) motorists were tested on road side sobriety testing devices,” he added.
“Eleven (11) of those motorists then failed the alco-analyser test at Hamilton Police Station and were arrested for an impaired driving offence.
“In addition, during these exercises five (5) road users were arrested on outstanding court apprehension warrants, six (6) were issued moving violation tickets and six (6) were issued motorist advice notices (official written warnings).
“Two people were arrested for taking a motorcycle without the owner’s consent and two stolen motorcycles were recovered.
“In the month of February 2023 to date, 27 motorists have been arrested for impaired driving offences. This compares to 11 motorists for the same period in 2022.
“We continue to be concerned around how prolific impaired driving is in our community,” said Mr Cardwell.
“Even in the face of advertisement, there are those who will continue to take the chance.”
He concluded: “Eleven (11) arrests over the course of the last weekend equates to 11 lives saved.
“Our message remains, if you drink do not drive.”
