An Upper Gatineau mother pleaded guilty Tuesday to impaired driving after she was caught with three times the legal alcohol limit in her system while her children were in the car.

Des Collines police arrested Nicole Gagnon, 43, as she drove in the La Pêche area north of Ottawa on Sunday. (MRC des Collines)Des Collines police believe Nicole Gagnon, 43, got one of her children to blow into an ignition system that was installed in her car after a previous drunk-driving conviction.

Gagnon, who lives in Déléage, Que., was arrested Sunday as she drove in the La Pêche area north of Ottawa with her three children, ages five, eight and 10.

Police had been alerted by Gagnon's 19-year-old son.

She failed a breathalyzer test, blowing 3½ times above the allowable limit, police said.

In 2009, Gagnon pleaded guilty to impaired driving after she was caught driving drunk in the same area, also with her three children in the vehicle.

Her driver's licence was suspended at the time. However, the court eventually lifted the suspension and had an ignition interlock system installed in her vehicle to test her sobriety before she got behind the wheel.

"As to this latest incident, the investigation revealed that she was using one of her children to blow in the device in order to be able to start the vehicle, since she was in no condition to do it herself, given her condition," des Collines police spokesperson Martin Fournel said in a statement.

A provincial court judge sentenced Gagnon to 60 days in jail, suspended her driver's licence for two years and imposed a series of conditions, including mandatory therapy for alcohol abuse.