December was a busy month for the RCMP's traffic unit, which charged 16 people with impaired driving during the annual holiday stop check blitz.

Cpl. Shawn Pollard, the head of the Yukon's traffic services division, said this week his officers, along with representatives from the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, withstood frigid temperatures many nights on the roads.

"The weather was definitely a factor for us,” he said. "When it's -35 with a wind chill of -50, that can make things tough on everyone.”

But the officers around the territory soldiered through.

Along with the impaired driving charges, 17 other drivers were given 24-hour licence suspensions.

Of those, nine were people suspected to be driving under the influence of drugs, Pollard said.

Even with all the extra attention placed on deterring impaired driving over the holiday season, police are currently investigating whether a collision last Saturday near the Mary Lake subdivision involved alcohol.

Two people were taken to Whitehorse General Hospital, Pollard said.

About 110 traffic tickets were handed out across the territory.

Seven people were arrested for driving with a suspended licence. In one case, a driver was arrested for the offence for the fourth time.

Pollard said officers have been placing extra focus on those driving with suspended licences.

"It's a serious offence; you've lost your licence for a reason,” Pollard said.

"Driving is a privilege, not a right.”

The results for the stop-check campaign during the 2011-12 holiday period were 22 people charged with impaired driving, 15 given 24-hour licence suspensions and more than 60 tickets meted out.

See editorial, p. 10.