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This article was published 3/12/2010 (3589 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Sgt. Rob Riffel shows off a revamped Check Stop van with new decals. Winnipeg Police will begin the 2010 festive season Check Stop program tonight to check for impaired drivers. The program will be operating day and night.

Police are warning the public they could be charged with impaired driving – even if they’re not over the legal limit.

Officers were kicking off the start of the festive Check Stop program, which tries to cut down on drunk driving during the month of December.

Police will have 10 to 16 dedicated officers out on any given night in order to crack down on dangerous driving by doing check stops.

Sgt. Rob Riffel, an impaired driving expert with the Winnipeg Police Service’s Central Traffic Unit, said there’s a section of the Criminal Code where people can be charged "irrespective of what (their) blood alcohol concentration is." The Code says drivers who flout the law can face a fine of over $1,000, or an up to five year prison term.

"Someone who’s not a very tolerant drinker...could be charged with impaired driving," he said. Police said they’ll be targeting their enforcement over the entire city, not in one specific area.

According to the University of Manitoba’s Security Services Department, drivers in Manitoba can’t have more than a 0.05 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Drivers who have a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher face stricter penalties under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Riffel said drivers might see their skills hindered before they exceed the legal limit, like in their steering or fine motor skills.

"You may have a loss of attention," he said.

"Driving is a complex, divided attention task...alcohol and drugs, they diminish your ability to divide your attention."

For example, he said an impaired driver might be able to keep his vehicle in the same lane, but he’s slowing down and speeding up.

Or, he said a driver might maintain a constant speed, but he’s weaving on the road.

"They’re not able to divide their attention enough to basically operate a vehicle safely," he said. Anti-drunk driving advocates got a boost this week after the province introduced legislation giving longer suspensions to repeat offenders who drive with a BAC between .05 and .08.

There have been five deaths since Halloween in alcohol-related accidents, said the Free Press earlier this week. Drivers should come up with a plan before they come out about how they’ll get home, said Riffel, whether that’s calling a friend or taking a cab.

"The time to decide when you’re going to drive home or not is not after having one, two, or three drinks and you kind-of roll the dice and see if you’re OK to go home," he said.

"You could have had some cold medication that you weren’t even thinking about and then have a couple of drinks, and that’s going to maybe amplify your impairment."

Gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca