Const. Perry Rasmussen holds a breathalyzer in front of an MHPS cruiser with Sgt. Gerald Sadlemyer in this December 2019 file photo. The provincial government has introduced legislation that would keep first-time drunk-driving offenders from a criminal record.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The provincial government is proposing new legislation that would allow first-time impaired driving offenders to avoid a criminal charge, which Medicine Hat Police Service chief Andy McGrogan says would help keep dangerous drivers off the road while freeing up court and police resources.
Bill 21, the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, would introduce the Immediate Roadside Sanction program later this year, “with serious, immediate and escalating consequences for impaired drivers,” according to a provincial release. Those consequences include new fines up to $2,000, increased length of vehicle seizures and stricter penalties for repeat offenders.
“If our goal is to keep roads safer and keep Albertans safe, I think they’re doing what they can,” said McGrogan. “It’s based on the B.C. model, and if their stats are right and impaired driving is actually down by offences by 36 per cent, I think that’s pretty good news.”
First time offenders would avoid criminal charges under the proposed bill, and would instead be subject to an immediate licence suspension of at least three months, a 30-day vehicle seizure and mandatory impaired driving education. Drivers would only be eligible to drive again after three months if an ignition interlock device is installed.
Repeat offenders would also be subject to new mandatory education programs, increased licence suspensions and expanded mandatory ignition interlock regulations. McGrogan says repeat offenders are a serious issue when it comes to impaired driving.
“It’s really big,” said McGrogan. “When I was on the street, usually we’re dealing with the same people over and over again, and it hasn’t changed much.”
The bill would also launch an online ticket dispute system in 2021, which McGrogan says will expedite the process while freeing up police from having to attend court for impaired driving offences.
“They’re disputed quite regularly and police officers are tied up in court quite often. On Fridays, on ticket day, you’ll see seven or eight coppers sitting down there waiting to give evidence on a few-hundred-dollar ticket, which just doesn’t make sense,” said McGrogan. “I know courts in Alberta have been overwhelmed for the past decade, so if there’s a quicker, better, more streamlined way that’s still giving people the right to dispute their allegations, I think that’s good.”
Finally, the bill would enshrine into law that commercial drivers must have zero blood alcohol and drug concentrations while on the job.
“I like the whole idea around new drivers and zero tolerance for commercial drivers, I think that’s really good,” said McGrogan. “Let’s change the behaviour early. It’s really all about, at the end of the day, detecting efficiently, dealing with it and stopping the offence in the first place, then definitely deterring multiple offences.”
