Impaired driving risks

By Michael Payton Senior Peace Officer, Town of Strathmore

Town of Strathmore Municipal Enforcement would like to highlight the dangers of driving while impaired. Driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs is illegal.
In 2018, the federal government updated Canada’s impaired driving laws, including the introduction of three new cannabis and cannabis/alcohol blood concentration limits. Cannabis limits work the same way as blood alcohol concentration (BAC) does for alcohol. Drivers found over the criminal limits are considered impaired behind the wheel.
In 2018, 40 per cent of all 24-hour license suspensions in Alberta were due to drugged driving. On average, 6,000 people were convicted of impaired driving in Alberta each year for the last five years.
A study by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction reports that cannabis creates performance deficits in many skills required to drive safely, such as tracking, reaction time, visual function, concentration, short-term memory and divided attention.
According to Health Canada’s 2018 Canadian Cannabis Survey, 39 per cent of people who had used cannabis in the past 12 months reported they had driven within two hours of using cannabis, and 43 per cent of those respondents did so within the past 30 days.
Police have the tools to test drivers for impaired driving. The Standardized Field Sobriety Test can be conducted at the roadside and can result in arrest and further evaluation and testing. Starting in 2018, police have also had the ability to request a breath sample to determine a driver’s sobriety at any time.
Whether drivers are caught driving drunk or high, they will face the same consequences.
Driving after using cannabis is as dangerous as driving after consuming alcohol, and police can detect drug impairment.
If you are impaired, plan a safe way home. Be responsible and do not drive if you are under the influence.