By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)/rdnewsNOW

multiple fines

RCMP stop semi going 130 km/h near Whitecourt; driver blows ‘caution’ blood alcohol sample

Feb 9, 2023 | 11:23 AM

RCMP say they stopped a speeding semi-truck near Whitecourt on Wednesday.

It was just after 4 p.m. on Feb. 8 when Whitecourt RCMP members were conducting speed enforcement on nearby Highway 43.

In a release, RCMP say that the semi-truck, which had an unloaded flat deck tractor-trailer, was observed allegedly travelling at 130 km/h in a 100km/h zone.

“The semi-truck was stopped and the driver was required to provide a mandatory alcohol screening breath sample into an Approved Screening Device,” RCMP say.

“The sample came back as a ‘CAUTION.’ This indicates to the officer that the driver, a 43-year-old class one driver from Edmonton, Alta., [allegedly] had a blood alcohol concentration between 60 and 99 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.”

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“Any driver who provides a breath sample that leads the officer to have reasonable and probably grounds that the drivers blood alcohol concentration is between 50 and 100 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, will receive a three day Immediate Roadside Sanction and the vehicle will be seized for three days as well. This driving suspension comes with a $360 fine. In addition to the Immediate Roadside Sanction and vehicle seizure, the driver was also issued a $175 speeding ticket.”

The release explains further:

The Immediate Roadside Sanctions (IRS) Program holds commercial drivers, operating in a commercial vehicle, at a higher standard due to the complexity and size of commercial vehicles. Commercial drivers must have a zero (0.00) blood alcohol concentration or blood drug concentration when driving a commercial vehicle. As a result of providing a “CAUTION” reading, this driver was dealt with as a standard IRS CAUTION.

For more information regarding the IRS Program visit alberta.ca/immediate-roadside-sanctions-zero-commercial-program.aspxalberta.ca. More information about Mandatory Alcohol Screening can be found on the federal justice department website.