RCMP in Manitoba stopped more than 40,000 vehicles during the Checkstop program, which began in late November. (CBC)

Manitoba RCMP charged more people with drunk driving in the final week of the annual Checkstop program this season — but also found drinking drivers were blowing more than twice the legal limit on breath tests.

RCMP Sgt. Wayne Blackmore said 32 drivers were charged with driving with more than the legal blood-alcohol limit of .08 per cent in the New Year's period ending Jan. 4.

Blackmore said another 11 drivers were suspended from driving for 24 hours because a roadside test showed they had a blood-alcohol level between .05 and .08.

Police are finding that the impaired drivers they are catching are registering a higher blood-alcohol level — to an average of more than twice the legal limit.

Blackmore said the average blood-alcohol level for those charged up until last week was .165 — that is 165 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

Last week, that figure jumped to an average of .178 and the highest reading was .245 — more than triple the legal limit.

Blackmore said the trend is alarming. "The consistently high averages remain a concern," he said. "People with such high readings have lost a great deal of their motor skills and are a danger on our roadways."

"I don't know what you can do to stop the hard-core drivers," said Blackmore, adding it's not that there are more drinking drivers on the roads but more people are being caught due to increased enforcement.

"Our numbers of [RCMP] members available to do the Checkstops have increased. You follow the trend and the more vehicles you check, the more you're going to find impaired drivers."

RCMP in Manitoba ran 613 Checkstops and stopped more than 20,000 vehicles since the program began in late November, Blackmore said, resulting in 168 impaired-driving charges.

Six people were killed in alcohol-related accidents during the Checkstop period and 67 people injured, he said. In 2007, nearly 12,000 vehicles were stopped, resulting in 92 impaired-driving charges. Eight people were killed in alcohol-related accidents in the same period last year, said Blackmore.

Manitoba, which has among the strictest drunk driving laws in Canada, has hinted even tougher penalties may be in order as new legislation is introduced in the spring.