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With new laws comes hope people drive sober

Dec 18, 2018 | 11:00 AM

It’s a big step in the right direction on the fight against impaired driving.

Today, new penalties for drunk driving and police powers were expanded to give officers another tool in detecting impaired drivers and keeping the roads safe. The legislation, which was passed in June at the same time as new rules for drug-impaired driving is intended to prevent injuries and death by giving police officers the ability to demand breath samples.

Previously, the law was focused more solely on having reasonable grounds to test a driver’s sobriety.

Battlefords RCMP Staff Sgt. Darcy Woolfitt said this law wouldn’t have come into effect if it weren’t for the drug impaired driving laws brought forth previously, and that it will help them in terms of being able to look for other indicators when it comes to administering tests. He said alcohol is more obvious and easy to detect, but it’s more difficult to detect a drug impairment.

A number of officers from the Battlefords RCMP are trained as drug recognition experts and a larger number is trained in standardized field sobriety tests. Woolfitt said added reinforcements will benefit the force, making sure the roads stay safe.

 “The members will have the ability to make observations and put people through a series of tests to further the grounds to formulate an investigation for either a blood demand or a breath demand,” he said.

Mounties have a responisibilty to find and arrest impaired drivers to keep the public safe. But Woolfitt said it’s not just the policing services that hold this responsibility.

“They have a hand in public safety, and if you’re out drinking or doing drugs, get a safe ride home,” he said. “The message has been out there for years. Public safety is everyone’s responsibility.”

With legislation, police services still do have to formulate grounds to administer the tests. Woolfitt said it’s not a free for all like some people may initially think when it comes to stops in which officers will repeadily test for drugs and alcohol. He said drug recognition experts will help, as will those trained in standardized field testing protocol. They hold the ability to screen the drivers for the legal grounds to move forward on administering these tests.

“The law has changed,” he said. “But the legal landmarks we have to meet for a prosecution are still there, and we still need to meet those.”

Woolfitt said moving into the Christmas season he hopes drivers stay safe on the roads and make sure the 2018 holiday season is the safest one yet in the Battlefords.

 

brady.lang@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @BradyLangCJNB