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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Several Yellowknifers appeared in territorial court May 12 to face drunk driving charges, prompting Crown prosecutor Danielle Vaillancourt to remark, "Drunk driving is far too common in this jurisdiction."

Of the four accused appearing in court, only one had a prior impaired driving conviction, dating back to 1996.

That man, 35-year-old Arthur Koyina, was arrested after he was spotted by a Yellowknife municipal enforcement officer at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 11, 2007 driving extremely slowly and weaving back and forth in his lane.

His blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit. In court, he was fined $1,000 and given a 14-month driving ban.

The others' charges were more recent.

A 33-year-old man was pulled over March 4 at 2:20 a.m. by RCMP. When police asked him to move his car, he reversed about 20 feet and collided with a parked pick-up truck. Originally from a smaller NWT community, he had only been living in Yellowknife for a few months.

"I've learned my lesson," he told the court. "Give me a fine. I'll pay it up."

He was given a $1,000 fine, a $150 victim surcharge and a 12-month driving ban in relation to the drunk driving charge.

"We've had a number of similar matters today," Judge Christine Gagnon told the man while handing down his sentence.

"I am trying to keep a certain consistency on penalties," she said.

In another, unrelated incident, a 28-year-old man was caught driving while drunk on March 28 after a complainant called about his erratic driving and continued to tail his vehicle until RCMP arrived to pull him over.

He too was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine plus a $150 victim surcharge and given a 12-month driving ban.

Yet another case dealt with a 26-year-old single mother who was arrested March 7 after an RCMP officer spotted her driving "extremely fast" on Old Airport Road. Police accelerated to 80 km/h but still could not catch her. She later lost control in the Matonabee area, slid up onto a sidewalk, reversed and then drove in the opposite direction.

Later, after the arrest, she asked the RCMP officer to loosen her cuffs and, after he did so, she took them off and threw them. Her blood alcohol level was exactly double the legal limit.

Defence attorney Peter Fuglsang said the woman, who was crying during sentencing, told him it's not normal behaviour for her.

"She said 'that's not me,'" he said. "You find out a lot about yourself when you get caught drinking," he added.

The woman, who has no previous drinking and driving convictions, was fined $1,000 plus a $150 victim surcharge and given a 15-month driving prohibition.

"This is a very serious offence. This court sees many, many cases of impaired driving," said Gagnon.