The Cochrane RCMP had a double whammy take-home message for those passing through checkstops in the area last month.
During the month of December, the Cochrane detachment conducted a total of six checkstops and from these, seven individuals were charged with impaired driving. In one incident, an individual was stopped in the early hours of Dec. 21 and provided samples of 210 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood. It was the most impaired driver they caught that month.
“Impaired driving is the number one criminal cause of death in this country. This is not a victimless crime,” said Cpl. Troy Savinkoff.
There were 14 drivers that were charged for operating with a suspended licence and three drivers were given 24-hour suspensions, two of which for drugs and one for medical reasons.
Two Alberta Zero Alcohol Tolerance (AAT) suspensions for GDL Driver with recorded alcohol in their system were also issued. Six drivers were given suspensions for recording a caution reading on roadside screening.
Two refusal charges were also laid for drivers unwilling to be screen tested.
While the police took several unsafe drivers off the road, the RCMP had another goal in mind during its checkstops last month.
After each driver was checked for sobriety and was cleared, a volunteer from Citizens on Patrol had a turn to chat with the driver about theft from vehicles in the area and the driver was provided information on the importance of locking up.
Savinkoff said it was just one more way to drive the message home to Cochranites that their vehicles – and belongings inside – are especially vulnerable when left unlocked.
“One thing we tried to do a bit different this year is we tried to institute a bit of a crime reduction theme,” Savinkoff said.
“I think they were fairly well received from the public. That’s kind of one of our first steps as far as a campaign to inform the public of the importance of securing their vehicles.”
