Holiday impaired driving incidents down, but still too many: MHPS

Jan 8, 2021 | 3:22 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – In a year where work holiday parties and family gatherings were restricted and people overall were spending less time on the road, Medicine Hat Police Service didn’t see much of a drop in the number of impaired drivers they dealt with this season.

Since the start of December Medicine Hat police have dealt with 10 impaired drivers on the streets. Over the same period a year ago, police dealt with 12 impaired drivers.

Two fewer incidents is a start, but Acting Staff Sgt. Darren Holeha of the city police traffic unit notes 10 is still too many.

“In a perfect world, we’d like to have no drinking and driving, we’d like to have zero. We can always do better and that’s what we’re striving to do,” he said. “We always want to remind residents it’s never OK to drink and drive, there’s lots of other options out there – calling a friend, calling a driving service, calling a cab. So until we hit that zero mark we can always do better.”

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One of the 10 incidents was an attempted daytime hit and run that saw the driver cause damage to a half-dozen vehicles on Valleyview Drive.

The other nine were dealt with through roadside penalties under the new legislation that came into effect in December.

With kids going back to school for in-person learning on Monday, Holeha reminds motorists to slow down and drive safely in the school and playground zones.

Holeha also says police always like to remind people that road conditions can change at any time, especially during the winter.

by Chris Brown

Holiday impaired driving incidents down, but still too many: MHPS

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