By MorinvilleNews.com Staff
Edmonton – Alberta’s RCMP and Sheriffs had a busy long weekend July 30 to Aug. 2. The province’s law enforcement issued a total of 4,054 charges on Alberta’s highways and roadways.
The bulk of charges laid over the August long weekend were speeding violations, 3,275 in all. That figure is 27 per cent higher than the 2,574 speeding tickets issued over the five-day period surrounding the Canada Day long weekend last month.
Police officers also issued 98 seat belt and child restraint violations, as well as 22 intersection infractions, figures that are below those issued over the Canada Day long weekend.
But while less people were caught cruising the province’s highways without a seat belt, plenty of drivers were curbed who’d had a belt or two before getting behind the wheel.
RCMP report that 235 impaired driving charges were issued, together with 48 24-hour suspensions. That figure is far above the 15 impaired drivers and 25 24-hour suspensions reported over the Canada Day long weekend.
The charges start the province’s police off to a good start for their focus on targeting impaired drivers in August, a month that consistently has high numbers of alcohol-related deaths.
The August long weekend is traditionally a deadly one on Alberta’s highways, according to Alberta Transportation figures between 2004 and 2008, statistics that show as many as 10 people killed over the August long weekend each year.
