WESTLOCK - Westlock’s top cop says drivers should expect to see more checkstops on area roads this month, just not on the same scale as in past years.
Due to COVID-19 and the physical-distancing protocols currently in place, Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird said drivers shouldn’t expect long line ups and scores of RCMP officers poking their heads into car windows.
In a news release, the Alberta RCMP note they’re working to promote safe, sober driving through National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day on Saturday, Dec. 5. As part of the annual, nation-wide initiative, RCMP will be patrolling our provincial highways and conducting checkstops and ensuring impaired drivers are apprehended and removed from the roads.
“The start of the checkstops is this coming weekend, the first weekend of December. But it’s not going to be as traditional as it once was with big checkstops which is due to COVID,” said Baird, noting that over the last two years in Westlock, police have dealt with 33 impaired driving cases.
“They’ll be out there doing more roving checkstops or smaller ones. But they’ll be there, just maybe not as visible in years gone past. You don’t want bunch a half-dozen officers standing there and people stopping … we don’t want that mix with COVID out there.
“We’ll try to do them more frequently and in different areas also, just a bit smaller in scale.”
Added Supt. Gary Graham, Alberta RCMP Traffic Services in the release: “In 2019, over 6,000 impaired driving-related charges were laid, and approximately 30 per cent of all fatal collisions in Alberta RCMP jurisdictions involved alcohol or drugs. Please plan ahead and find a safe means of transportation to and from your holiday destinations.”
The Alberta RCMP are asking motorists to remember that driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol impairs your judgment and reaction time and is always preventable — they recommend calling a taxi/rideshare service, using a designated driver, or staying the night.
In addition, individuals with a graduated driver’s licence must abide by the zero-tolerance law.
“We want Albertans to know that it is never OK to get behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” says Supt. Rick Gardner, Alberta Traffic Sheriffs in the release.
“You risk not only your own safety, but also the lives of others.”
