McDrunk drivers busted by drive-thru cops

SURREY, B.C. - The next time you go to a drive-thru fast food restaurant in Surrey, B.C., it may be a Mountie who asks "You want fries with that?"

In a new twist on efforts to catch impaired drivers, the RCMP is stationing officers inside the drive-thru section of fast food restaurants late at night, with the officers looking for signs that patrons in their cars may be drunk.

If an officer hears slurred speech or smells stale liquor, he can warn another Mountie who stops the vehicle as it drives away.

Sgt. Roger Morrow says since the program began late last year, police have made several impaired driving arrests and issued 215 suspensions.

He says the merchants who are co-operating with police find the program very entertaining.