P.E.I. woman who tested 3.6 times over limit among many charged on weekend for impaired

Police in Prince Edward Island arrested several people for impaired driving over the weekend, with one in particular allegedly testing over three times the legal limit of alcohol.

Saturday and Sunday, the P.E.I. RCMP made eight arrests, with just two being for non-impaired related offences.

Cpl. Gavin Moore, the media relations officer for the P.E.I. RCMP, said it's uncommon to see so many alcohol-related driving offences in one cluster.

"We have seen in recent years that a significant number of our impaired arrests are impaired by cannabis and other drugs," he said. "Over this weekend, these were all alcohol-related."

Moore said one driver, a 45-year woman, allegedly recorded a blood-alcohol reading reading of 0.29 on Saturday. That's more than three-and-a-half times the legal limit of 0.08. 

"That's a very high reading, he said. "Beyond that is quite often lethal for people."

Moore said the RCMP expects to see more cases of impaired driving as the summer tourism season begins.

"There are only so many police to address impaired driving," he said. "We do our best to have a strong presence on Island roads, but it is even more vital that Islanders know that 911 is there for any time you see a potential impaired driver."

Summerside collision leads to impaired charges

Police in Summerside also responded to a rear-end collision that allegedly involved impaired driving on Saturday. 

Near the scene, officers found a black sport-utility vehicle, which had been the subject of an earlier erratic driving complaint, in the yard of a residence on Granville Street. The SUV had come to rest against a shed with all of its airbags deployed.  

Bystanders pointed officers to the driver, a 31-year-old man from Ontario, who police said showed signs of impairment by alcohol. 

The man was issued a seven-day driving suspension, his vehicle was impounded and he was released on a surety — money that will be forfeited if he fails to comply with the conditions of his release.

The man will appear in court at a future date to answer to charges related to impaired driving. 

'It is disappointing'

Karen Clinton, president of the King and Queens chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in P.E.I., she said she hopes Islanders make more responsible decisions when deciding to drive.

"It is disappointing. We hope with the information we're sharing with MADD and the messages that we're trying to get out that people will make smart choices and have a sober drive prepared," she said.

"With the culture that we have, drinking is a part of that and people enjoy some drinks while partaking in... activities. We would like to see more people be more responsible."

Clinton echoed sentiments from MADD Canada CEO Steve Sullivan, who is advocating for the P.E.I. government to implement immediate licence suspensions for those who fail a roadside screening test for alcohol or drugs.

"We know that the provincial government is very supportive of this, it's going through legislation right now and we're working out details," she said.

"It results in immediate consequences, which kind of makes people think more about whether or not they want to risk their vehicle getting taken away along with those other consequences that comes with that."