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19 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,F ebruary 7,2019 insidehalton.com GIVE A THOUGHTFUL GIFT Make her feel loved with the Shape of My Heart hand-finished jewellery gift set $125 Gift set value $140. Available 1/10 - 2/14 or while supplies last. Valid only at participating retailers and online. Void where prohibited. Selections may vary by store. Not valid with prior purchases. Product not for resale; store may limit product purchase quantities in its sole discretion. Gift set includes one 397797CZ ($85) and one 297813CZ ($55), and a gift box. © 2019 Pandora Jewelry, LLC • All rights reserved THE PANDORA STORE BRAMALEA CITY CENTRE 905.792.8820 THE PANDORA STORE ERIN MILLS TOWN CENTRE 905.828.5902 THE PANDORA STORE MAPLEVIEW CENTRE 905.632.5400 THE PANDORA STORE SQUARE ONE SHOPPING CENTRE 905.232.0661 Halton police say im- paired driving arrests in the region were up in 2018. Officers reported that a total of 593 motorists were arrested for impaired driv- ing offences last year. That's a seven per cent jump over impaired driv- ing arrests made in 2017. The reason for the in- crease may lie with a step- ping up of efforts by Halton police to remove impaired drivers from local roads. Police did 20 per cent more roadside tests than in 2017, with the 2018 total reaching 3,116. Halton police also point- ed out that on Dec. 18, 2018 new impaired driving charges were added to the Criminal Code including: .Operation while im- paired .Failure or refusal to comply with demand Police also issued 565 roadside suspensions dur- ing 2018, a seven per cent increase over the number of suspensions handed out in 2017. Officers said 33 of those suspensions went to repeat offenders. Halton police said De- cember was a particularly busy month with 969 road- side tests conducted by of- ficers through the RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) Program. This figure is nearly double the number of road- side tests conducted through RIDE during 2017. Despite the increase in testing only 58 motorists were arrested for impaired driving offences in Decem- ber, a 20 per cent decrease from 2017. Roadside suspensions were up two per cent in De- cember, with 85 suspen- sions issued. Officers said 2018 had its own unique challenges in- cluding getting residents ready for the legalization of cannabis. "In the months leading up to the legalization of cannabis in October 2018, we communicated fre- quently with the public to clarify that drug-impaired driving is a criminal of- fence, and has been since 1925," said Sgt. Ryan Snow of the Halton Police traffic services unit. "We also worked to dis- pel the myth that drug-im- paired driving is easy to mask and therefore diffi- cult to detect. Impairment by drugs affects informa- tion-processing, hand-eye co-ordination, judgment, concentration, compre- hension, visual acuity and reaction time. Our highly- trained officers continue to enforce drug-impaired driving based on observa- tions of the readily recog- nizable effects of drugs on a driver's ability to operate a motor vehicle. Last year, we charged 42 individuals with drug-impaired driv- ing offences on our roads." Snow is continuing to solicit help from the public, noting that tips from other drivers are an important part of keeping impaired drivers off local roads. "Last year, motorists within our region reported 169 drivers who were sub- sequently located by our officers and arrested for impaired driving," said Snow. "With a third of our im- paired investigations being attributable, at least in part, to our community, this is exactly what we mean when we say that road safety is a shared re- sponsibility. Impaired driving is a crime in prog- ress. If you witness sus- pected impaired driving, please call 911 to report it." Deputy Chief Nishan Duraiappah said Halton police have no intention of easing up on impaired driv- ers in 2019. "Ultimately, those driv- ers that choose to engage in these behaviours are put- ting all road users at risk," he said. "We continue to seek op- portunities to be innova- tive in how we mitigate any threat to community safety and well-being in our re- gion. Our residents de- serve our best." HALTON POLICE REPORT IMPAIRED DRIVING ARRESTS UP 7 PER CENT IN 2018 NEWS OF 593 MOTORISTS ARRESTED FOR IMPAIRED DRIVING LAST YEAR 42 WERE IMPAIRED BY DRUGS We dig deeper on the issues that matter to you. VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM TO READ CURRENT AND PAST INVESTIGATIONS