Leading up to the Victoria Day long weekend, the RCMP in the Yukon will be taking part in a national cross-Canada traffic blitz targeting unsafe and impaired drivers.

Canada Road Safety Week will begin tomorrow and runs through May 21, Victoria Day.

"We consider this to be the kickoff of the summer driving season,” Cpl. Shawn Pollard of the Yukon RCMP's traffic services said today.

"When traffic increases, like during a long weekend, it's important to remind people about road safety.”

Detachments from around the territory will be participating in the blitz, Pollard said.

Officers will be particularly focused on high-risk behaviors, including impaired drivers (via alcohol/drugs/fatigue), not wearing a seatbelt, aggressive driving behaviour (exceeding the posted speed limits, disobeying traffic control devices, illegal/improper passing/lane changes, etc.) and distracted driving.

Changes made last year to the Yukon's Motor Vehicle Act mean drivers now face a $287 fine if they are caught talking or texting on a cell phone while driving.

The fine for not wearing a seatbelt is $86 plus demerit points.

"There has to be lots of enforcement,” Pollard said. "People need the reinforcement to be reminded about the dangers.”

On average, a driver's eyes move away from the road for 4.6 seconds at a time, over a six-second interval, while sending a text message, according to the Canada Safety Council.

This distraction results in a much higher collision risk: a driver sending a text message is 23 times more likely than a non-distracted driver to get in a collision.

While this national project is underway, local RCMP have taken on their own project targeting repeat offenders with serious convictions like impaired driving or other dangerous driving offences who continue to drive while prohibited, suspended or disqualified.

This project has identified a defined group of drivers who are considered to be the "worst of the worst” offenders.

Some names were given to police thanks to tips from the public. Others are known to be serious offenders likely not to comply with an order not to drive.

In some cases, police conduct surveillance on a vehicle they know belongs to a driver with a suspended licence.

"Surveillance is something we're going to be doing more of. We know who these people are and we are going to be keeping our eyes on them,” Pollard said.

"Nine times out of 10, when someone is driving without a licence, they also have no insurance and other problems. There is a reason they are prohibited from driving.”

Last Monday, RCMP Traffic Services officers conducted a surveillance operation. They arrested a known, prolific disqualified driver who was observed operating a motor vehicle in the Porter Creek area, Pollard said.

The 45-year-old male has a history with police, having been charged three times in the last year and a half for driving with a disqualified licence and other charges, Pollard said.

He is now facing four more charges under the Yukon Motor Vehicles Act, including driving while disqualified, not carrying insurance, the misuse of licence plates and operating an unregistered vehicle.

The RCMP are not releasing his name. He is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.

Police are asking the public to report anyone known to be driving while unlicensed, with a driving pattern, a description of the vehicle and a plate number, if possible.