You better watch out, you better take care, you better not be driving impaired!

The Edmonton Police Service will launch its 2018 Holiday Checkstop program Thursday evening, an annual initiative with the goal to help keep impaired drivers off city streets.

“The holidays are always a special time for friends and family coming home from around the province and country,” said Sgt. Rob Davis, of the EPS Impaired Driving Unit. “The public will see our officers working Checkstops across the city throughout the holidays, to help ensure everyone gets home safely.”

It will be business as usual, however, for the service’s Impaired Driving Unit, despite the ink barely being dry on the country’s cannabis legalization laws.

“Regardless if you’ve consumed too much alcohol, prescription medication and/or cannabis, plain and simple, it has always been a criminal offence to drive while being impaired,” explained Sgt. Davis. “You’re risking losing your licence, your job and you’re also risking your life, the lives of any other occupants in your vehicle and the lives of those on the roads around you.”

“Stay at home, or make plans to take a taxi or ride sharing service. As individuals, as a community, we need to take care of one another to ensure we all get home safely to our families.”

Police have always had the means to test drug-impaired driving, and those methods remain the same now that cannabis is legalized. If a police officer suspects that a driver is impaired by a drug, they will conduct a Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) at the roadside. The SFST consists of some preliminary questions, an eye exam, and some movement tests. If the SFST indicates impairment, the driver will then be arrested and taken to a police station to be evaluated by a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE), who can demand a urine or blood sample. If the results from the laboratory confirm the DRE’s suspicion of impairment, charges can then be laid on the driver. Officers may also request an oral fluid sample at the roadside, which, if positive, will then trigger a DRE evaluation.

 

On Dec. 18, 2018, Mandatory Alcohol Screening will also come into effect. This change to the federal Criminal Code will remove the requirement for police to form grounds for requesting a breath sample. This means that police can conduct roadside alcohol testing on any person who has been lawfully stopped, whether or not there is suspicion that the person is impaired.

 
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 impaired driving.

 

If you suspect a driver is impaired, please contact police as soon as possible 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 www.edmontonpolice.ca/traffic

from Media Releases https://ift.tt/2rrNtJW