Friday, February 4, 2005

Heyden, Ont. - Another shift of snow machine patrol by officers continues to indicate the need for a police presence on their snow machines. Officers with the OPP Traffic and Marine Unit, the Sault Ste Marie City Police and volunteers with the S.T.O.P. program were out in the Heyden and Goulais River area last night. As the shift drew to a close late last night, officers tallied up the results of their day and here is an indication of who will be paying fines for not operating their machines properly. Seven snow machine operators were charged with violations under the Motorized Snow Vehicle Act while five other operators were lucky enough to receive warnings under the same Act. Three people were given a choice to show up at the police station with up to date documents or they can pay a fine for not having the documents. One person was found to be operating his machine after drinking. He was given a trailside Breathalyzer test and received a 12-hour driver's licence suspension.

Montreal River, Ont. - No one was hurt and there was little damage after a transport slid off the roadway and into the ditch yesterday morning. At about 10 a.m. yesterday morning a transport was northbound on Highway 17 just north of the Mile 67 Road in the Montreal River area. An isolated snow squall had hit that area and the roadway was snow-covered and slippery. The trailer on the transport began to fishtail and the driver lost control of the rig. The vehicle slid across the highway and into the ditch. A tow truck was needed to get the truck out. The driver was not injured and the damage to the truck was minimal. No charges were laid in this investigation.