The MHPS will be enforcing new drinking and driving legislation this Holiday Season.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker
The province of Alberta brought in new drinking and driving laws this month which will speed up the process for everyone involved.
Under old rules, a first-time drinking and driving charge was an offence under the Criminal Code. Now, first-time offenders do not need to wait for a court date to get the process over with.
“We’ve gone all administrative for first-time offenders,” said traffic unit Sgt. Gerald Sadlemyer. “If a person blows a fail now on the roadside device, we’ll give them a couple pieces of paper, a seizure notice, a form describing sanctions, and a big change is that they will not go to court.
“The offender can log into the system the next day and their sanctions start immediately, as they did before. They’re looking at a 90-day licence suspension, followed by a 12-month ignition interlock if they qualify.
“Another new thing, when they log in they can see a $1,000 fine plus a victim surcharge. We also seize a vehicle at roadside for 30 days.”
If someone has their vehicle seized, it is up to them to phone a friend or a cab to get home.
Under the old rules, a first-time offender would have waited six to 18 months for a court date. Sadlemyer says the new rules make things easier for those involved.
“It makes it easier for police and for the public,” he said. “It’s about ease of access and it makes it so people don’t have to pay huge legal fees for their first offence.
“They can settle it the next day or can dispute it if they wish – even that is done within 30 days with provincial adjudicators.”
People driving over 0.05 blood alcohol percentage and below 0.08 will now have their vehicle seized for three days and get a $300 fine.
Repeat offenders will get a combination of administrative fines as well as criminal code punishments.
“If you get caught a second time, you have that interlock for three years,” said Sadlemyer. “If you get caught a third time, you have it for life.
“A repeat offender still has the fine and seizure, but they also have to take driving courses through the province which they have to pay for.”
A vehicle seizure for 30 days costs around $1,200. Courses and renting an interlock system also add up, says Sadlemyer.
“Having a drink and driving is just never worth it,” he said. “Use one of the many alternatives we have in our city and plan ahead.”
Share this story:
17 -16
1 Comment
Oldest
NewestMost Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
AustinM.
2 years ago
It is very important to review laws when it comes to such things because it will help prevent a lot of accidents if the laws are strict enough. And also, it’s very important to spread awareness about drunk driving because it shows all the danger and possible consequences. Especially it’s important to do this among youth students because their behaviour can be risky. You can turn not only yourself but also others. In my uni, we have such lectures from time to time, and the next week we will have a meeting with police officers, which will show and tell us something connected to it. And now, I’m also working on one writing about the danger of alcohol and about driving while not sober. I found a lot of interesting and valuable info, including paper examples here which helped me to see the whole “picture” from different sides. It’s good to have such examples, and they will for sure help me in writing, but also I want to include something from life, so I think I’ll also conduct a small survey. And in a result, I want to have an informative and helpful paper.
It is very important to review laws when it comes to such things because it will help prevent a lot of accidents if the laws are strict enough. And also, it’s very important to spread awareness about drunk driving because it shows all the danger and possible consequences. Especially it’s important to do this among youth students because their behaviour can be risky. You can turn not only yourself but also others. In my uni, we have such lectures from time to time, and the next week we will have a meeting with police officers, which will show and tell us something connected to it. And now, I’m also working on one writing about the danger of alcohol and about driving while not sober. I found a lot of interesting and valuable info, including paper examples here which helped me to see the whole “picture” from different sides. It’s good to have such examples, and they will for sure help me in writing, but also I want to include something from life, so I think I’ll also conduct a small survey. And in a result, I want to have an informative and helpful paper.