Did you know that if you drive your snowmobile while impaired you are subject to the same penalties as if you were driving your car.

One of the major concerns of the Durham Regional Police and the Snowmobile Trail Officer Patrol (S.T.O.P.) program is the snowmobile operators who choose to drink and drive.

The three major factors in snowmobile fatalities are alcohol, night time driving, and speed.

There are still people out there who would never think of driving impaired to their cottage or to visit a friend. Once there and after a few drinks they don't seem to think about jumping on a snowmobile and going for a ride.

For those few individuals, keep this in mind, the Criminal Code of Canada Section 253 (a): Impaired-driving offence, is for persons who operate or have the ability to set a motor vehicle in motion while their ability to drive is impaired by alcohol or drug.

In the Criminal Code a motor vehicle is anything powered other than by muscular power. This means a car, truck, boat, golf cart, tractor, ATV, or a snowmobile.

Knowing this these same individuals should also know that if they are caught drinking and driving a snowmobile they will be arrested, their snowmobile could be impounded, and the driver is subject to the same penalties as if he or she were caught driving his or her passenger vehicle.

It could mean a fine and loss of their driver's license or even a term of imprisonment.

A consequence far greater than that would be the loss of life, their own, or some innocent person(s).

When the Durham Regional Police and S.T.O.P officers are out doing spot checks they will be using an Alcotest Screening Device.

When a demand is read to a snowmobile driver they are required by law to provide a sample of their breath. If they refuse to do so they can be arrested and charged.

If they should blow into the screening device and blow a "fail" they would be arrested and taken to the nearest police station for an Intoxilyzer test. If they were to blow over the legal limit at that time the driver would be charged with Exceed 80 mg.

Once again this charge carries the same penalty as Impaired Driving or Refuse Breath Sample.