Targeting drivers with blood alcohol content just under the legal limit sends a strong message, Winkler Police Chief Ryan Hunt says.

"I like this," Hunt says. "In the past with drivers between .05 and .08, just under the limit of being charged criminally, there were no real consequences."

New proposed laws would slap at least a $200 fine for first time offenders blowing between .05 and .08. That fee would increase to at least $400 for a third or subsequent offence. Their vehicle would also be impounded for three days on first offence, and 30 days for a third offence.

"It should work towards preventing some of that risk-taking behaviour where a person might decide to drive knowing they consumed alcohol but they might think they're not over the legal limit," Hunt explains. "As we all know, driving abilities are affected under any amount of alcohol."

These new sanctions would be on top of existing licence suspensions and other sanctions for 'warn' range drivers.

For first time drunk drivers that register a 'fail' on an approved screening device, which indicates a BAC over .08, who cause no bodily injury or death, police would have the discretion to impose a new monetary penalty of at least $500 as well as a mandatory ignition interlock of one year rather than proceeding with a criminal charge. The new sanctions would be comparable to those applied post-conviction and would be applied on top of the existing pre-conviction 90-day licence suspension, 30-day vehicle impoundment and mandatory Addictions Foundation of Manitoba assessment or remedial program required for all first-time drunk drivers with a BAC over .08 on a breathalyzer test.

Adding up all the administrative sanctions and penalties, the minimum cost for a 'warn' range driver would be $2,600 for a first offence to about $3,200 for a third or subsequent offence. The minimum cost for a 'fail' would be over $3,300. All monetary penalties would be established by regulation.

Under the new approach, testing could take as little as six minutes, which is significantly less than the time required to administer a breathalyzer and process a drunk driver criminally, which is often up to four hours. As a result, police officers would get back on the road sooner, allowing them to catch more drunk drivers.

Once proclaimed, the legislation would be accompanied by a province-wide public education campaign by Manitoba Public Insurance, further emphasizing the new costs and consequences of driving drunk.

In 2017, 73 people were killed and 442 were seriously injured in traffic collisions in Manitoba. Drunk driving accounted for 32 per cent of those killed and six per cent of those injured. Already this year, 28 people have lost their lives because of a drunk driver.

This new Immediate Roadside Prohibition approach to drunk driving was implemented in British Columbia in 2010. Since then, alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities have decreased by 50 per cent and injuries have decreased by nearly 25 per cent. The British Columbia model is strongly supported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada.