The Thanksgiving holiday weekend was relatively uneventful for RCMP, both locally and province-wide, thanks in large part to increased enforcement.
From October 7th to 10th, RCMP and Alberta Sheriffs were out in full force, patrolling provincial highways and cracking down on bad drivers as part of road safety initiative Operation Impact.
Officers focused on catching speeders, impaired and distracted drivers, and those who weren’t wearing their seatbelts.
In addition, the number of serious collisions dropped significantly from the same weekend in 2010.
The majority of Alberta roadways appeared to have been relatively calm over the four-day period, with no fatalities or serious collisions reported.
This came as a stark contrast to last year, when five people were killed and 24 others suffered serious injuries from collisions.
Crowsnest Pass RCMP responded to only one major collision, which took place last Monday, October 10th on Hwy 3 in Coleman.
Fortunately, while significant damage was sustained to both vehicles involved, both drivers sustained only minor injuries (for more details, see RCMP Briefs on Page 3).
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While there is no direct evidence to prove that the newly instated Distracted Driving law played a significant role in the decrease in collisions over the weekend, Crowsnest Pass Sergeant Keith Bott said he is glad the legislation has been passed and hopes it will lead to a decrease.
“I firmly believe there has been an incredible increase in the number of accidents, as a direct result of the use of cell phones,” said Sergeant Bott.
“If people choose to obey the law, I think the end result is going to be a decrease in accidents.”
In the six weeks since the law came into effect, Crowsnest Pass RCMP officers have not issued any distracted driving tickets, but instead has been warning perpetrators and educating them as to the details of the law.
Bott said it is important for drivers to realize that cell phone use is equally dangerous whether they are driving in town - where there are pedestrians, other vehicles, stop signs, etc. - or on the highway, where increased speeds can lead to more serious accidents.
“No matter where you are, if you need to make a call or send a text message, just pull over to the side of the road, throw your (hazard lights) on, and do what you have to do,” said Bott.
“Don’t do it while you’re driving.”
Fore more information on the Distracted Driving law, visit the Distracted Driving Website. |
