EDMONTON — During the warm summer months more people are killed in collisions involving alcohol on Alberta highways than any other time of year, according to the province.
With a few weeks of summer left and another long weekend around the corner, the province is urging drivers not to drink and drive. It recently released the following facts on impaired driving collisions in Alberta.
- Over five years, approximately 8,600 people were convicted of impaired driving in Alberta each year.
- On average in Alberta, one in five drivers involved in fatal collisions has been drinking prior to the collision. This compares to an average of about one in 20 drivers involved in injury collisions.
- Over five years, an average of almost 90 people were killed and 1,330 people were injured annually in collisions involving at least one driver who had consumed alcohol prior to the crash (2009-2013).
- In 2013, 80 people were killed and 1,133 were injured.
READ MORE: Alberta man who lost wife to impaired driver shares heartbreaking story
Over the August long weekend this year, 77 impaired driving-related charges were laid across the province. While that number is a decrease over the same weekend last year, officers said there was an increase in the number of roadside suspensions issued to drivers.
READ MORE: Impaired driving charges in Alberta down this August long weekend over 2014
Anyone caught driving with a blood alcohol concentration over .08 will be charged under the Criminal Code and receive an immediate licence suspension.
A driver with a blood alcohol content between .05 and .08 will receive an immediate three-day licence suspension and a three-day vehicle seizure.
Graphic by Tonia Huynh, Global News.
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