Richard Froese
South Peace News
Two Super-B truck drivers were caught driving impaired while Peace Regional RCMP conducted a checkstop April 25 near Manning.
RCMP Alberta Traffic Unit and Manning RCMP joined forces for the checkstop on Highway 35 in downtown Manning around 8 p.m., says an RCMP news release April 27.
Officers first tested a driver of a Super-B tractor-trailer with a mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) and the approved screening device (ASD) and found the driver had a blood-alcohol concentration of 45 mg per cent, says Peace Regional RCMP Const. Julie-Ann Strilaiff, public information officer.
“Under Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act (TSA), there is a zero tolerance for alcohol with drivers of commercial vehicles over a defined gross weight or seating capacity,” Strilaiff says.
The driver’s operators licence was suspended and seized for three days in accordance with the TSA immediate roadside sanction program.
A short time later, a similar Super-B tractor-trailer was stopped and the driver registered a breath sample of over 80 mg per cent, which is the legal limit under the Criminal Code of Canada.
The driver was arrested and charged and faces getting his licence suspended for up to 15 months, a $1,200 fine and getting the vehicle seized for 30 days.
Police have been given stronger powers to test drivers after the MAS provision in the Criminal Code came into force in December 2018.
“Under MAS, a peace officer can demand a breath sample immediately when lawfully stopping a vehicle,” Strilaiff says.
“Prior to that change, a police officer had to form reasonable suspicion a driver had alcohol in their body while operating a motor vehicle in order to make an ASD breath demand.”
The current Alberta IRS program has also been in effect since 2018, she notes.
Subsequent offences under the program progressively increase suspensions and penalties.
Police officers still have the discretion to lay charges under the Criminal Code for impaired driving depending on circumstances.
The Alberta RCMP seeks citizens’ assistance in identifying and locating of any impaired drivers.
Anyone with information in relation to an impaired driver is requested to contact local police through 911 if it is an emergency or by calling 310-RCMP (7267) for non-emergencies.