OPP starts mandatory alcohol screening on Waterloo Region highways [Video]

Be prepared to provide a breath sample if you’re stopped by OPP on a Waterloo Region highway.

On Thursday, OPP announced officers are now conducting Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) during every traffic stop in the Greater Toronto Area.

The project includes Waterloo Region highways that are patrolled by the OPP’s Cambridge detachment, including Highway 7/8, Highway 85 and Highway 401, Sgt. Kerry Schmidt confirmed.

The OPP is calling the initiative its “toughest measures yet to reduce impaired driving.”

According to the force, impaired driving collisions and charges are up nearly 30 per cent compared to the previous five-year average.

Schmidt says it’s not always obvious when a driver has been drinking

“We’ve seen impaired drivers with not a lot of … breath smells out in the wind and the weather,” he told CP24.

“Now this takes away any bias, any situations. We’re just going to be testing everybody.”

Drivers who refuse could be charged

Under Canada’s …