December’s Traffic Safety Spotlight was on impaired driving, with police reporting 414 impaired driving offences.

As a result of the focus on impaired driving, 240 people were charged with an impaired driving offence under the Criminal Code, and another 174 were issued sanctions, which included licence suspensions and vehicle impoundments.

“This December, what we have seen is, compared to previous Decembers, if you’re comparing apples-to-apples, [there is a] higher number of total offences but the higher number is entirely due to a greater number of suspensions,” said Tyler McMurchy, the manager of media relations. “The number of suspensions is much higher than in previous Decembers.”

“The number of Criminal Code charges remains about the same or even lower than we’ve seen in previous years,” he continued.

While that’s bad news, McMurchy says the good news is that thousands of people made the right decision to seek alternative ways to return home, whether by the designated driver or a taxi or decided to stay at a relative or friend’s place rather than get behind the wheel.

“Whoever made a good choice, I think we need to celebrate that as well,” McMurchy added.

with files from Ryan Young (GX94)