LAC LA BICHE - Alberta Sheriffs from the Lac La Biche area joined forces with Redwater RCMP, Provincial Traffic officers and peace officers from Sturgeon and Thorhild Counties on Monday, May 30 for a regional campaign focused on Highways 63 and 28.
The two busy roadways provide access to much of northeastern Alberta, including the Lakeland area, and in recent years, say area police officials, the incidents of serious crashes have risen with the rise in traffic.
“With ever-increasing traffic volumes, Highways 63 and 28 have seen their fair share of serious and fatal collisions,” says Sergeant Jeff Sehn, the detachment commander at the Redwater RCMP detachment.
The day-long joint operation was a way for motorists to be reminded of their responsibilities on the road.
"Small changes in driving behavior including compliance with speed, distracted driving, seat belts and impaired driving can have dramatic effects on the safety of our roadways," said Sehn.
According to the most recent statistics released by the Alberta Motor Association, there were more than 21,000 distracted driving convictions issued to drivers on Alberta roads in 2020 — an average number over the years since the distracted driving provincial legislation came into effect. AMA officials say motorists who drive while distracted are eight-times more likely to be involved in a collision.
Drug statistics on the rise
In the most recent statistics from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 7,300 federal impaired driving charges were laid across Alberta in 2019. The figures include alcohol and drug impairment. While the statistics represent a slow, downward trend in occurrences for alcohol-related impairment — down from almost 11,000 charges 10 years before — drug impairment has seen a 300 per cent increase in the same time period. The 2019 stats from MADD show 400 drug-related impairment charges issued that year, compared to less than 200 for each year between 2010 and 2017.
In Lac La Biche County, reports from the first quarter of 2022 show that the Lac La Biche RCMP have investigated eight impaired driving files between January 1 and the end of March. The number is a slight increase compared to the same time period of the last four years.
