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Police: Drunk driver couldn’t stay awake

50 vehicle crashes, more than 300 tickets have piled up in Saanich since Jan. 1
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Saanich police

Saanich police arrested a driver who was so drunk on Sunday morning, he couldn’t stay awake behind the wheel.

Concerned motorists called police about 10:40 a.m. Sunday after they spotted a blue 2018 Audi Q5 swerving in traffic while southbound on the Trans-Canada Highway, said Saanich police spokesman Sgt. Jereme Leslie.

Some drivers reported that the driver appeared to pass out while waiting at a red light to turn onto McKenzie Avenue. The light changed several times before he regained consciousness and he made a right turn onto McKenzie.

He took another ill-timed snooze while at a light at Burnside Road West. Officers stopped the vehicle and arrested a 54-year-old Saanich man for impaired driving, Leslie said. The man is facing impaired driving charges and will appear in court in February.

Saanich police would like to speak with any witnesses, including someone who knocked on the man’s window when he was stopped in traffic. Witnesses can quote file number 19-01067.

The department’s traffic safety unit has been dealing with more bad drivers than usual in 2019, issuing more than 300 tickets. Traffic officers have gone to more than 50 crashes and conducted six impaired-driving investigations since New Year’s Day.

On Saturday, traffic officers tried to stop a motorcycle going more than 200 kilometres an hour and doing wheelies on the Trans-Canada Highway. Several 911 calls came in about 1:40 p.m. about a driver weaving through traffic at high speeds and doing stunts.

Officers spotted the motorcycle heading north on Highway 17 and later going west on McKenzie. When the motorcyclist saw police in his rearview mirror, he drove between the lanes of traffic to get away. The motorcycle is described as an orange or red racing-style bike with no licence plate. Anyone who spotted the motorcycle can call Saanich police, quoting file number 19-01002.

In an effort to catch speeders, traffic officers set up a trap on Thursday on Highway 17 near Royal Oak Drive, where they stopped 22 speeders in two hours. One vehicle was travelling at 139 kilometres per hour in an 80-kilometre zone. The driver was fined $368, and his vehicle impounded for seven days.