Though current COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta prevent people from hosting holiday gatherings, Calgary police say they’ll still be holding Checkstops this month to rid the roads of drunk drivers.
In a Thursday news release, the Calgary Police Service acknowledged the Checkstop program will look different this year because of the pandemic, but said it will still go ahead.
“We will continue to conduct Checkstops throughout the holiday season, as we do each year,” Const. Dan Kurz said. “The Checkstop program is an important visual reminder that impaired driving is not OK under any circumstances.”
This year, officers conducting the stops will be wearing PPE to maintain their safety and the safety of the public.
“We’re all masked up. There are guys who are wearing gloves whenever they’re talking to somebody. They’ve got goggles,” Kurz said.
“These officers are not here to check if the members of the vehicles are all in the same family or the same cohort. That’s not our focus here. Our focus here is strictly the detection and apprehension of impaired drivers.”
Impaired driving continues to be a major contributing factor in collisions throughout Alberta.
According to the CPS, over a 10-year period from 2008 to 2017, 574 people died in a collision involving a legally impaired driver and nearly 8,000 were injured.
This year, there have been five fatal collisions in Calgary involving alcohol or drugs, police said.
“Through the last week or so, we’ve had a number of horrific crashes on the city streets. Some of them may or may not be attributed to alcohol. But the point is, we want to make sure that people are safe when they’re out and about with their family, and that they’re going to see their family at the end of the day,” Kurz said.
Public health measures put in place by the province may have closed indoor dining at bars and restaurants, but Kurz said there are “still people driving under the influence.”
“Our drug-impaired driving stats for 2020 are actually almost double what they were last year — and we’re not even done the year. So our drug-impaired driving has doubled, whereas our alcohol has stayed relatively the same.”
On Dec. 1, new, tougher impaired driving laws took effect in Alberta.
Under the new impaired driving laws outlined in Bill 21, the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, significant penalties will be handed out at the roadside, including fines up to $2,000.
Repeat offenders will now face a mandatory education program and mandatory ignition interlock.
In addition, new zero-tolerance consequences for novice drivers and commercial drivers were introduced.
While most first-time offenders won’t necessarily face a criminal charge, their cases would instead be handled outside of court through SafeRoads Alberta — a new adjudication branch that will allow drivers to pay their fees online, request more time to pay their penalty or dispute their vehicle seizure.