The Calgary Police Service says all drivers in the city can expect to take a roadside alcohol breath test if they are pulled over or go through a checkstop.
All front-line officers will be equipped with screening devices, the police said Thursday.
“Impaired driving is the leading criminal cause of death in Canada,” said Const. Andrew Fairman with the alcohol and drug recognition unit.
“We all want to do our part to reduce the tragic impact of impaired driving.”
Since December 2018, when new federal impaired driving legislation took effect, police in Canada have been able to demand preliminary samples without reasonable suspicion that drivers have been drinking.
Calgary police have taken more than 15,600 samples since starting mandatory checks more than a year ago. Those have resulted in 142 Criminal Code charges and 359 provincial sanctions.
In 2015, more than 700 people were seriously injured or killed in impaired driving cases in Canada.
Concerns have been raised about the constitutionality of the new impaired driving law.
Ian Savage, president of the Calgary-based Criminal Defence Lawyers Association, said he’ll be watching closely as challenges work their way through the courts.
“Essentially this is what we call a warrantless, groundless search and seizure,” he said.
“In this case, the law does not require the officer to have any grounds whatsoever to make a person blow and that, on the surface, would appear to be unconstitutional.”
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