The message was resoundingly clear from the Estevan Police Service (EPS): they’re taking a much tougher, zero-tolerance approach on impaired driving, starting immediately.
It means motorists can look forward to check stops on more frequent basis.
Impaired driving has been an issue in Estevan for a long time. According to numbers from the Estevan Police Service, there were 139 motorists charged last year. And while the number was down from 177 in 2013, it’s still a high number for a community the size of Estevan. Police can’t be everywhere at once, so most impaired drivers elude officers.
But two recent accidents have led to the added crackdown by police. The first was a head-on collision on Kensington Avenue that resulted in three people suffering serious injuries, and a fourth person also being hurt.
The other, on Fourth Avenue South, resulted in the death of one passenger and serious injuries for another. The driver is facing five charges.
It would have been a lot tougher for an impaired motorist to drive in Estevan on Saturday night, with two check stops set up in the city. One impaired driver was arrested that evening, and another was caught early on Sunday.
Police needed to do something following the two recent accidents. Some might view the effort as reactionary due to an improbable situation. There were two serious accidents in a four-day span in which alcohol was a factor; it’s rare to have one in a year.
But others will say it’s surprising there haven’t been more serious collisions involving inebriated drivers, due to the number of impaired driving incidents in the city.
This blitz will have the support of the vast majority of the public; the only people who might be opposed are those who routinely drive impaired, or sulking motorists who are upset over the brief delays caused by the check stops.
Members of the public who are upset over the two recent accidents, and frustrated about impaired driving in general, can do their part to make the community safer by calling the Report Impaired Drivers (RID) line if they see a motorist they suspect to be drunk. Police responded to a number of calls through RID on Saturday night. Most of those motorists proved to be sober.
Vigilance needs to be a priority throughout the city right now.
Hopefully the impaired driving crackdown lasts for some time. It’s great the police are instigating traffic stops, and people are calling RID. The local police don’t have the manpower or the resources to have check stops every weekend throughout the year.
Eventually, the crackdown will end, the calls to RID will largely dry up, and another type of crime will capture the public’s attention.
Hopefully it doesn’t happen until after Christmas, which is approaching quickly. There will be Christmas parties, socials and other functions which lead to an increased consumption of alcohol. The local police typically have an increased number of traffic stops throughout the city in an effort to find impaired drivers.
So hopefully they will apprehend more drunk drivers, and our streets will be a little safer the rest of the year.
