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Officers patrolling Alberta roads in full force this long weekend

A warning to all drivers. Police, RCMP and Traffic Sheriffs will be keeping a particularly close eye on the roads this long weekend.

“This is the start of the September long weekend, which is traditionally one of the busiest in Alberta,” says RCMP Sergeant Brian Topham.

Topham says officers will out in full force, focusing on seat belt use, distracted driving, and speeding.

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“The sad part is, we can in fact, tell the motoring public where we’re going to be at any given time and it doesn’t seem to have that big of an impact on speeds.”

Topham says another big focus will be on impaired drivers. Beginning Saturday, stricter penalties for impaired drivers come into effect. Anyone caught driving with a blood alcohol limit over .05 will immediately lose their license and vehicle for three days.

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“There’s no wiggle room, there just isn’t. Hopefully it will be one more tool we can use to help reduce the carnage that’s caused by impaired drivers.”

Officers say in recent years their visible presence on Alberta roads has proven to reduce the number of serious and fatal collisions.

“Hopefully at the end of the weekend we have no fatalities,” Topham adds.

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