Police arrest over 40 people for impaired driving over holidays

The Edmonton Police Service ran an impaired driving campaign over the holiday season, which included a number of Checkstop events across the city.

The EPS Checkstop program involves vehicle-stop locations and roving patrols across the city looking for impaired drivers. While it is aimed at detecting impaired drivers and removing them from the road, a large component is also aimed at educating the public of the dangers and consequences of drinking and driving.

 

Checkstop / TADD Summary of Results: December 2015 and 2016
Category	Dec 2015	Dec 2016
Number of Checkstop / TADD Operations	10	12
Total Vehicles Checked	3 145	3 515
Impaired Driving Arrests	42	41
Roadside Suspensions Issued	59	64
Other Criminal Code Charges	26	30

 

The Checkstop Campaign enhances other EPS impaired driving enforcement efforts such as Target All Drunk Drivers (TADD - police mobile enforcement near entertainment areas) and Curb the Danger (citizens reporting impaired drivers by calling 911), and helps to make Edmonton’s streets safer for all citizens.

Curb the Danger calls received from residents also played an important role in helping to keep motorists and pedestrians safe over the holidays and throughout 2016.

In one instance, on New Year’s Eve, police responded to a Curb the Danger call that resulted in the arrest of an impaired 19-year-old female driver. The driver had allegedly collided with a bus shelter on the south side of 132 Avenue near 105 Street, at approximately 2:30 a.m. that morning. When tested by officers, the woman provided breath sample readings of 170mg% and 180mg%.

Additional year-end impaired driving statistics are included below.

EPS Impaired Driving Arrests by Program
Program	2015	2016	Change
Checkstop	153	146	-4.6%
Curb the Danger	714	661	-7.4%
Other Arrests	720	630	-12.5%
Total Impaired Arrests	1587	1437	-9.5%

Checkstop / TADD Results, 2016 and 2015
Measure	2015	2016	Change
Operations	30	32	6.7%
Vehicles Checked	9112	9720	6.7%
Impaired Arrests	153	149	-2.6%
Roadside Suspensions	211	209	-0.9%

 

If you suspect a driver is impaired, please contact police to Curb the Danger:

• Call 911 if it is safe to do so.  Calling 911 in an emergency, or to report an impaired driver, is permitted while driving under the distracted driving law.
• Report the location, vehicle description, and licence plate number.
• Keep the vehicle in sight but do not attempt to chase the vehicle, or break the law to do so.

 

For more information on EPS traffic safety and enforcement initiatives, please visit http://ift.tt/1gfwB0n.

from Media Releases http://ift.tt/2hSC4Ay