Calgarians have a lot of choices to get home safe from parties over the holiday season, and the Calgary police are encouraging citizens to do so.

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) and Alberta Sheriffs were out Friday night (Dec. 8) on Stoney Trail to kick off their holiday Checkstop season.

A steady stream of vehicles loaded into the dedicated stalls where drivers were asked to submit to a mandatory roadside breathalyzer. One by one, drivers blew into a straw before they were given the green light to proceed to their destination.

“The holiday season is a time for family and friends and co-workers to get together,” said CPS Acting Sergeant David Dentandt with the CPS Traffic Section.

“Sometimes that involves drinking alcohol and or using drugs. We want people to understand that after consuming alcohol or doing drugs it is not acceptable to get behind the wheel and drive anywhere.”

The federal legal maximum blood alcohol limit for fully licensed drivers is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood (0.08). In Alberta, there are provincial penalties if you are tested driving with a blood alcohol of 0.05 to 0.079. This includes a three-day license suspension and impounding of a vehicle.

In December 2018, Bill C-46 came into effect, giving law enforcement the ability to demand that any lawfully stopped driver submit to a breath sample – even if they do not suspect alcohol impairment. While initially the changes met resistance, statistics show that it’s had a significant positive impact on injury collisions and fatalities where impairment is a factor.

“In the first year following the introduction of MAS, alcohol-involved fatalities were 39% lower than the average of the previous three years,” read a 2021 federal report.

Catching drivers on a more regular basis: Dentandt

A/Sgt. Dentandt said that the approved screening devices are very accurate, and they’re calibrated every 28 days. Prior to using the device at a Checkstop, it’s tested to ensure it’s working.  

On any given evening, CPS could tag up to three or four drivers through the screening. A/Sgt. Dentandt said that sometimes they don’t have any.

Overall, however, since the introduction of the mandatory alcohol screening rules, he said they’ve seen an uptick in the number of charges.

“Prior to starting the immediate roadside sanction program, we were charging around 500 or so impaired drivers each year,” said Dentandt.

“Since this new immediate roadside sanction program started, we’ve almost tripled that in catching the impaired drivers. So, we’re not seeing less, we’re actually able to catch them on a more regular basis.”

Ultimately, Dentandt said they wanted to raise awareness that they’ll be out this holiday season keeping Calgary roads safe.

“There are so many options that are available to everyone. They can call a cab, call an Uber, call a friend, make arrangements prior to going out and consuming those substances,” he said.

“There’s absolutely zero excuse for someone to nowadays to get behind the wheel after they’ve been drinking or using drugs.

“Impaired driving is a criminal offense. It’s absolutely 100 per cent preventable by the choices that you make.”

Here’s more information on penalties tied to impaired driving.