Eight tickets for non-essential travel north of the 53rd parallel in violation of a provincial public health order were among 100 Thompson RCMP dished out in and around the city May 14-18.
Seven people from Winnipeg and one from Dauphin were given $486 tickets for unnecessary travel into Northern Manitoba. All were coming to Thompson to visit friends or family for the long weekend and knew about the travel ban but decided to ignore it.
Close to half of the tickets RCMP issued over the Victoria Day long weekend - 44 - were for speeding. The highest clocked speed was 155 kilometres per hour around 8:30 p.m. May 18 near Pisew Falls. The driver received a $770 ticket and was issued a Serious Offence Notice for a licence review with MPI.
Thirteen tickets were handed out for driving unregistered vehicles, while six people who were driving while suspended had their vehicles impounded for a minimum of 30 days. Four people were ticketed for driving without driver’s licences, while one driver was fined for driving on a learner’s licence without a supervising driver. One person stopped on the afternoon of May 14 was prohibited from driving for life and had their vehicle impounded for at least 30 days and will appear in court to face a charge at a future date.
Two drivers restricted to operating vehicles equipped with alcohol ignition interlocks had their vehicles impounded and are facing court dates after they were found driving vehicles without them.
There were four tickets issued for disobeying stop signs or red lights, three for excessive window tint, three for unsecured loads, two for not wearing seatbelts and one for a passenger drinking alcohol inside a vehicle. Two people were also ticketed for using cell phones while driving and were issued 72-hour licence suspensions as a result.
