Presents and lumps of coal were swapped out for candy canes and traffic tickets Dec. 16, as the Westlock RCMP handed out goodies to naughty and nice drivers at the Candy Cane Checkstop.
The Town of Westlock, Westlock Rural, and Pickardville fire departments, Citizens on Patrol and an EMS crew were pitched outside Martin Deerline on Highway 18 handing out candy canes and information, while the RCMP members performed checks.
Staff Sgt. Dwayne Rawson said that out of 174 vehicles that came through the checkstop over an hour, only one had an alcohol-related event.
“There was one vehicle with three young 18-year-old girls in it from out of town and one girl had an open cooler and one girl had an open bottle of wine, so they got a ticket,” he said. “Those girls did not get a candy cane.”
The driver, he added, had not been drinking.
For the most part, drivers were on Santa’s nice list. This year’s alcohol-related infraction was mostly on par with the 2015 checkstop, when no drivers were caught impaired.
On the whole, Rawson said impaired driving has seen a downward trend in the detachment area, although he didn’t provide statistics for this month.
“I would have to say its down from other years,” he estimated.
The survey says …
However, a Nov. 12 and 13 poll from Mainstreet Research/Postmedia found that almost one in five Albertans would consider driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol, as long as the distance was short enough and the road was quiet.
The survey of 2,497 Albertans also reported that close to 10 per cent of them admitted to driving while under the influence, with close to half of that number occurring in the last five years.
Mainstreet Research president Quito Maggi said the number varied slightly depending on where in the province a person lived.
“Only 14 per cent said they would consider it in Edmonton, while 18 per cent said they would consider it in Calgary,” he said. “The highest number, 19 per cent, came from outside the two major cities.”
• With files from Barry Kerton.
