School zone speeders target of RCMP initiative

Drivers breaking the speed limit in school zones across Newfoundland and Labrador were the target of an RCMP initiative on Friday.

Officers with traffic services stopped cars outside Pasadena Academy at one of the province-wide school zone checkpoints.

Const. Matthew Christie said there were a lot of traffic stops made in school zones in western Newfoundland as a result.

"We've had over 100 contacts made with vehicles in the Deer Lake, Pasadena and Corner Brook area for speeding. We have also seen tickets handed out for talking on cell phones, people not wearing their seat belts, and also for not having proper restrained car seats in their vehicles," he said.

According to Christie, there was one discovery made that police didn't expect Friday morning.

"We actually had one parent this morning dropping their child off at school who was under the influence of alcohol. They were stopped by police and they were issued a seven-day provincial driving suspension in relation to the incident," said Christie.

The parent didn't have enough alcohol in their system to end up with an impaired driving charge, they were detained and issued a breathalyzer test.

One driver turned around when approaching the police traffic stop, and was pursued by police. It turned out to be nothing, but Christie said it's better to be safe than sorry.

"Our children are walking on the sidewalks and on the crosswalks, so we are doing everything we can to ensure people are driving safely," he said.