4,500 traffic charges laid in Alberta over May long weekend

CALGARY – The Victoria Day weekend marked the end of Canada Road Safety Week this year, and Alberta’s traffic officers were out in full force to reduce impaired driving, distracted driving and speeding.

Alberta RCMP and traffic sheriffs released details of the 4,500 charges laid across the province between Friday, May 16 and Monday, May 19, 2015—revealing that one patrol unit in Banff caught one quarter of the speeding offenders throughout Alberta.

READ MORE: ‘Enjoy the ride into summer’ – Alberta RCMP urge safety during May long weekend

“One unit in Banff operating at full capacity, issued 1,009 speeding tickets over the four days of the long weekend,” said Sgt. Jason Graw of the Alberta Traffic Sheriffs in a release.

“It’s not necessarily about the fines associated with the tickets, it’s about the human consequences of the driving behaviour.”

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The long weekend charges across Alberta included:

• 56 drivers who’d been drinking removed from the road, compared to 35 in 2014 and 50 in 2013
• 4,369 speeding violations issued, compared to 3,960 in 2014 and 4,049 in 2013
• 39 drivers charged with distracted driving, compared to 60 in 2014 and 68 in 2013
• 160 people charged with failing to use seatbelts / child safety seats, compared to 167 in 2014 and 240 in 2015

Officers also charged the same driver twice on the same day for exceeding the speed limit by over 30 km/h.

And a driver of a golf cart driving on a roadway while in excess of the provincial blood alcohol limit was issued an immediate three-day licence suspension. The golf cart was seized for three days.

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