Camping, cottages and out of town travel are synonymous with summer long weekends. So, too, are the heightened risks that come with increased traffic and excessive drinking.

The sobering consequences of impaired driving are well known by law enforcement, which has long kept a close eye on roadways over holiday weekends.

In Yellowknife over the Labour Day Weekend, continued to do the same.

On Sunday, following two Checkstop programs conducted in as many days, Yellowknifer caught up with Const. Heather Cosenzo, a community policing and victim services constable with the Yellowknife detachment.

SA国际影视传媒淲e just want to make sure that we're out and that we're visible,SA国际影视传媒� said Cosenzo, standing near a line of pylons dividing stopped vehicles into two lanes.

SA国际影视传媒淭onight we want to make sure that no one is drinking and driving and that everyone is safe in their car,SA国际影视传媒� she added.

The Checkstop, lined with blinking trucks, was staged just before the turn onto Vee Lake Road SA国际影视传媒� a busy thoroughfare for drivers heading to and from the city.

Cosenzo was joined by a handful of officers, including members trained to take breath samples, a collision reconstruction expert, a by-law officer, radar and laser speedometer operators and an officer trained to conduct a Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST). Cpl. Terrence Dunphy with the Police Dog Services was also on site with his police dog Hoss SA国际影视传媒� a new-to-Yellowknife German Shepherd on hand if officers suspect thereSA国际影视传媒檚 drugs inside a vehicle.

Cosenzo explained that while impaired driving is the focus of stops like these, officers are keeping an eye out for than just slurred speech and bloodshot eyes.

SA国际影视传媒淩egistration, insurance, that driverSA国际影视传媒檚 licences are up to date; that the occupants are safe and fully secured. Tail lights, obscured license plates. That kind of thing,SA国际影视传媒� said Cosenzo.

Usually, minor infractions can be resolved with warnings, said Cosenzo. But not for drunk driving.

If there is SA国际影视传媒渞easonableSA国际影视传媒� suspicion that a driver is impaired by alcohol, an officer can demand a breath sample from an screening device.

A roadside sample is then taken. If a driver blows within the SA国际影视传媒渨arnSA国际影视传媒� range SA国际影视传媒� 50-80 milligrams of alcohol in one hundred milliliters of blood SA国际影视传媒� a 24-hour suspension can be issued. Drivers that fail, or blow over the legal limit of 80 milligrams, are arrested for impaired driving.

As for police testing methods for drug-impaired drivers SA国际影视传媒� which could soon see chances with marijuana's legalization in some 40 days SA国际影视传媒� Yellowknife currently rely on SFSTs. Police can demand drivers submit to a roadside evaluation, which requires drivers to go through a series of those tests.

If the driver fails those tests, that's when Cosenzo calls a trained Drug Recognition Evaluator to conduct further testing.

But only certain officers are trained evaluators, and they're not always available when needed, added Cosenzo.

Methods and tools for testing pot impairment will likely change SA国际影视传媒� it's a matter of when.

Law enforcement agencies across the country could soon be equipped with the Draeger DrugTest 5000, a device, recently approved by the feds, which tests saliva for levels of THC, pot's active ingredient. But questions are being raised about how reliable the device is, as it can't evaluate a person's level of impairment the same way a blood-alcohol test does. Plus, it's designed to work in temperatures far warmer than in the North.

Yellowknife have not yet received the device and it's unclear when they will.

Asked whether drivers could expect to see more check stops come legalization, Cosenzo said she feels the force already carries out a lot of safety campaigns and initiatives.

Last holiday season, Yellowknife partnered with Students Against Drunk Driving, stopping around 500 cars over two nights while handing out candy canes.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot about education and not just enforcement,SA国际影视传媒� said Cosenzo.

While the Checkstop focused on traffic outside of the citySA国际影视传媒檚 core, impaired driving along the streets of Yellowknife is also a priority for police. That became clear when YellowkniferSA国际影视传媒檚 ride along ended with officers scouring the downtown for a suspected drunk driver who fled his vehicle SA国际影视传媒� and police SA国际影视传媒� on foot.

No tickets were handed out during Sunday's Checkstop, but some motorists were warned to keep their documents with them at all times.