Crowsnest Pass RCMP have announced that they will be cracking down on distracted drivers, impaired drivers and those who speed through school zones during the month of September.
Officers expect to have their hands full, as the new provincial Distracted Driving legislation comes into effect this Thursday, September 1st, followed closely by the Labour Day long weekend – and the impaired driving that comes with it – and students returning to school next week.
Police will be stationed at key locations throughout the community and surrounding rural areas in order to enforce safe driving habits, obeying school zone speed limits, and responsible alcohol use.
“(These practices) can save lives and reduce injury on provincial roadways,” said Crowsnest Pass RCMP Sergeant Scott Howard in a press release.
Last year, Alberta RCMP and Sheriffs issued more than 4,000 tickets over the Labour Day long weekend, including 64 impaired driving tickets, 99 seatbelt infractions, 27 intersection infractions, and 3,317 speeding violations.
“Every day our officers patrol area highways with a focus on driver behavior that poses risk for themselves or other road users,” said Sergeant Howard.
An estimated 90 per cent of all motor vehicle collisions are caused by driver error, of which approximately 20 to 30 per cent are a result of driver distractions.
In order to rectify this problem, the province has created the Distracted Driving legislation, which restricts drivers from taking part in any distracting activity on any and all roadways within the province, both rural and urban.
The law restricts drivers from talking or texting on a hand-held cellular phone, using electronic devices such as laptops, video games, cameras, and portable audio players such as IPods, reading books or magazines, and attending to personal grooming such as combing hair, applying makeup, shaving, flossing, or brushing one’s teeth.