WESTLOCK – Westlock RCMP, including the traffic division based at the detachment, handed out nearly 160 tickets and issued one impaired driving charge from Christmas Eve to Jan. 3.
Meanwhile, across the province, RCMP issued 2,374 traffic tickets, which saw 872 individuals ticketed for speeding, 55 motorists handed distracted driving tickets and 130 impaired drivers arrested.
Of the 130 impaired drivers, 16 were Criminal Code Impaired by Alcohol and four were Criminal Code Impaired by Drugs. Another 1,333 motorists received tickets for traffic safety violations including careless driving and driving with a prohibited or suspended licence. Provincewide RCMP report 26 per cent less traffic offences for the same period last year.
Westlock RCMP Staff Sgt. Al Baird said the single impaired driving charge, handed out in town, was encouraging, although looking at the provincial numbers shows there’s still work to do.
“The one impaired driving charge is good news, it’s encouraging. But as you see from Alberta numbers it’s still a problem. One is one too many,” said Baird.
“Part of it is I think the pandemic, so there weren’t the Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve parties and people were staying home. That said we don’t always get a lot over Christmas anyways. I’ve found that people typically over that time period make more of an effort to find an alternative way home or just not drink as much versus the rest of the year.”
In town during the 10-day stretch RCMP issued four Traffic Safety Act tickets and handed out the lone impaired driving charge, while the Westlock Traffic Services, which covers the highways from Barrhead to Thorhild and up near Slave Lake and down to the southern end of Westlock County, issued 154 tickets. Aside from the impaired, Baird noted a charge of transporting cannabis in an open package as troublesome.
“That’s a bit concerning, because it’s like having open alcohol in a vehicle,” he added.
Other notable stops
· In St. Albert, RCMP say an impaired man was found passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle while in traffic. The individual was arrested and had a blood alcohol concentration of 240 mg.
· In Grande Prairie, an impaired man was arrested by police and had a blood alcohol concentration of 260 mg.
· Near Cochrane, police report an impaired woman crashed into a snow plow and had a blood alcohol concentration of 220 mg.
· Two commercial drivers, while working, were arrested and charged with impaired driving by RCMP.
· Three impaired drivers were found to have children in their vehicles ranging in age from two to five.
