Morinville RCMP’s traffic safety focus for the month of December is Impaired Driving.
In December Morinville RCMP and its law enforcement partners will focusing it’s attention on impaired driving.
Unfortunately,
impaired driving is still very prevalent in our communities. Over a 10
year period in Alberta, 934 people were killed as a result of alcohol or
drug impaired driving. There are alternatives to impaired driving,
especially during the upcoming holiday season. Plan ahead – use a
rideshare, call a cab, have a sober designated driver, or get a friend
or family member to take you home.
Impaired driving facts:
On average, 6,837 people were convicted of impaired driving in Alberta each year over the last five years.
Over
a 10-year period, from 2007 to 2016, 934 people died in Alberta as a
result of alcohol- or drug-impaired driving, and more than 14,000 people
were injured.
Mixing
alcohol and drugs such as cannabis results in significantly increased
impairment. In 2014 in Alberta, 19.1 per cent of fatally injured drivers
tested positive in lab tests for both alcohol and drugs.
The
number of fatally injured drivers in Canada that test positive for
drugs each year is collected and reported in the Traffic Injury Research
Foundation’s (TIRF) National Fatality Database. In 2014, for example,
81.9% of fatally injured drivers were tested for drugs; among those
tested, 42.4% were positive for drugs (Brown et al. 2017).
Among
these fatally injured drivers who were positive for drugs, 44.7% tested
positive for cannabis; 41.2% for CNS depressants; 24.9% for CNS
stimulants; and 24.0% for narcotic analgesics.
In
comparison, 87.7% of fatally injured drivers were tested for alcohol in
2014; among those tested, 28.5% tested positive for alcohol.
Therefore,
more fatally injured drivers tested positive for drugs than for alcohol
in 2014. (Source: Traffic Injury Research Foundation)
If you spot an impaired driver please call the Morinville RCMP at 780-939-4520 or call 911 immediately.
