Thousands of motorists were slapped with fines over the long weekend, a large number that doesn’t even take into account those dished out for violating Alberta’s new, enhanced drunk driving laws.
Members of the RCMP and Alberta Sheriffs, along with conservation officers and commercial vehicle enforcement, according to Metro, handed out 5,209 tickets Alberta wide over the Labour Day long weekend.
According to CTV, the vast majority of the fines – 4,051 – were for speeding.
CTV also stated there were 36 distracted driving violations; 71 intersection-related infractions; 59 hazardous violations including dangerous driving; 144 seatbelt or child restraint infractions; and 685 violations for driving while suspended or driving without insurance.
Of all the fines, nearly 700 of those were doled out along Hwy. 63, the main artery feeding traffic to and from the oilsands in northern Alberta.
But the figures released by the province don’t include fines issued under the province’s revised drinking and driving laws, said CTV.
However, drinking and driving fines issued under previously existing regulations were higher year-to-year, despite new, harsher penalties and guidelines being put into place in time for the September long weekend.
According to the Edmonton Journal, 54 drivers were charged under the Criminal Code after blowing above .08, which is up from 43 impaired driving charges in 2011, but down from 64 in 2010, while twenty-eight 24-hour suspensions were dished out, which is up from 24 in 2011 and 19 in 2010.
The fines handed out under the new drinking and driving regulations, which came into effect in time for the long weekend, are still being tabulated, the Journal reported.