Steinbach RCMP along with members from Headingley Traffic Services and Ste. Anne Police performed check stops in the Southeast on Friday and Saturday to educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving.

During the month of June Manitoba Public Insurance and RCMP are teaming up for a Road Watch program which continues their public education on the dangers of impaired driving. MPI Spokesperson Brian Smiley says driving impaired does not only mean having a blood-alcohol level equal to or above .05, but also driving while under the influence of drugs, whether illegally obtained or prescription drugs which make an individual unfit to drive.

"Police officers have been trained to identify driver's behaviour with respect to drug ingestion and they will do road side checks."

Constable Taylor Burns says when out in the community performing check stops the visibility itself acts as a deterrent for most people adding there is no excuse for driving impaired.

Smiley notes when a driver's blood-alcohol level is equal to or above .05 their drivers license is suspended for 72 hours and five demerits are added to their license. He adds when the blood-alcohol level exceeds .08, or they're under the influence of drugs, the driver is charged with impaired driving and can have their drivers suspended for one year or more, depending on the driver's previous history.

Burns says impaired driving remains the single largest causal factor in road deaths in rural Manitoba and the ultimate goal is to reduce collisions, injuries and deaths attributed to impaired driving. On average, more than two people are killed per month in Manitoba due to impaired driving. Smiley says there is a continual decrease seen in road fatalities over the last ten years, which is good news.

"The bad news is that people still continue to drink and drive. I think we would all agree, people who are just driving down the highways, innocent Manitobans, should all have some comfort in knowing they can reach their destination safely, unfortunately, there's a portion of the population that still continues to drink and drive and jeopardize people's lives."

RCMP found one impaired driver on Friday and one on Saturday during their checks, they also confiscated illegal substances and/or weapons from a few drivers.

Stats show males account for 73% of impaired drivers involved in collisions. Smiley says, typically, males will drive more kilometres than females noting in a relationship it's typically the male who drives the vehicle. Meanwhile, drivers under the age of 35 account for 59% of impaired drivers involved in collisions and have a three times higher rate of being involved in a crash than individuals 35-years or older.

Between 2010 and 2015, 375,000 vehicles were screened by participating law agencies in Manitoba and 1,500 impaired drivers were taken off the road while 12,000 traffic act offense notices were given out.