The suspect in Tuesday night's rampage through a city park is now officially charged.

Andrew Penner, 21, faces 17 charges, including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, four counts of assault with a weapon and driving without a valid licence.

On Wednesday, Greg Stangl, who lives just a few doors down from Penner, said he's not surprised by the arrest.

"The cops have been here a number of times, trying to you know get people to settle down and that kind of thing. Sometimes it helps for a little while. Sometimes it doesn't,” he said.

Darrell Parisian, who lives near Marj Edey Park – the site of the driving rampage, said he also sees cars zoom down his street all the time.

"The speed limit here is 50 (km/h). They're probably going 70 or 80 (km/h) at times,” he said.

The RCMP said drivers with invalid or no licences are more common than you think.

On Wednesday, an RCMP officer pulled over a driver who hasn't had a licence since 1975.

"Since 1978, he's been convicted nine times of impaired driving, seven times of driving without a licence criminally when he was prohibited by the courts, and three times now for just driving without a licence at all," said Cpl. Mark Hume with the Western Manitoba RCMP Traffic Services.

RCMP Manitoba numbers show the number of drivers found with suspended or no licences since 2014:

  • Highway Traffic Act 173(1) drive without holding a valid driver’s license
  • 2015 YTD: 331
  • 2014: 975
  • Highway Traffic Act 225(1) drive disqualified
  • 2015 YTD: 193
  • 2014: 543
  • Criminal Code 259(4) driving while disqualified/prohibited
  • 2015 YTD: 94
  • 2014: 298

"Typically, people who have no regard for the laws and drive without a license or drive suspended, they're not observing traffic rules, per-say, so they are certainly a high risk driver out there," said Brian Smiley from Manitoba Public Insurance.

According to MPI’s website, anyone caught driving a motor vehicle with a suspended licence will have that vehicle impounded for 30 days.

They could also be charged up to $2,000 and spend up to five years in jail.

Next week is national road safety week. It runs May 12 to May 18.

The RCMP said officers will be out in full force, cracking down on aggressive driving, impaired driving and more.