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By Chantal Wagner

Don't Drink & Drive

Police conducting single-car check stops this holiday season

Dec 18, 2020 | 3:30 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Medicine Hat Police will be roaming around the city throughout the holidays to conduct single-car check stops to make sure motorists are not drinking and driving.

Sgt. Gerald Sadlemyer with the traffic unit says due to COVID-19 and safety for their officers and public, city police will not have the big full-view check stops this year.

Sadlemyer says the city’s impaired driving numbers are a little bit lower than last year.

In 2019 there were 130 and right now there are 86 as we come to the last few weeks of the year.

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However, he says 86 is still too many.

“We want to remind motorists that drinking and driving is a serious offense and holds a lot of consequences. With ride-sharing companies these days, taxi-cabs, it’s a lot cheaper than someone getting an impaired driving charge.”

Sadlemyer adds there have also been more traffic-related calls for service for speeding issues this year.

He says that was an issue for every city across Canada with people being home more and able to report.

Meantime, next spring, the traffic unit will be starting with their strategy of tackling noisy vehicles.

“There are vehicles out there that have been modified that disrupt our neighbourhoods and that’s going to be our focus for early 2021, is to get a plan with bylaw and the traffic unit and make sure we can curb that almost to nothing if we can,” Sadlemyer said.

He adds that our bylaws within the city are quite a deterrent, ranging from $250-$350 in fines.

“So we will definitely be using those sections and dealing with the problem that we had in 2020.”