Hay River cab driver charged with impaired driving
Blood-alcohol level at four times the legal limit, according to police
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, January 18, 2016
HAY RIVER
A Hay River taxi driver has been charged with impaired driving after a cab became stuck in a snow bank in the early morning hours of Jan. 5.
According to the RCMP, breath samples obtained from the driver indicated a blood/alcohol reading about four times the legal limit.
"At approximately one o'clock in the morning, the Hay River RCMP got a call from a member of the public that a taxi cab had struck a snow bank in Hay River," said Const. Samuel Holm, the south district media liaison with the RCMP's 'G' Division.
"When the members arrived on scene, they determined that the driver of the taxi cab, who had care and control of it at that time, was impaired. A 41-year-old female was subsequently arrested for impaired care and control of a motor vehicle. Her breath samples once provided were approximately four times the legal limit."
There were no injuries in the incident, which occurred in the Woodland Drive area.
While the mishap was reported to the police by a member of the public, Holm said the information he had received as of Jan. 7 did not indicate whether there were passengers in the cab at the time, nor did he have information on which cab company was involved.
After being arrested, the female driver was released and has been ordered to appear in Hay River Territorial Court on March 7 to answer to the charge.
Holm said he is unable to release the name of the driver. While she has been ordered to appear in court, the charge has yet to be heard in court, which may happen sometime this week.
Holm, who is serving in the RCMP's Fort Resolution detachment, said a charge of impaired driving against a taxi driver is certainly not a common occurrence, based on his eight years of policing in eastern Canada.
"It's extremely concerning as obviously a taxi cab driver would be somebody that we would be relying on to be the designated driver," he said. "It's a safe option for us."
Holm also described a blood/alcohol reading four times the legal limit as extremely concerning.
The legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, which is commonly referred to as .08.
The RCMP are reminding the public never to enter a vehicle with an intoxicated driver and to report all suspected impaired drivers to the police.
