The Lethbridge Police Service will have random check stops throughout July 2022 in Lethbridge. (File photo: LNN)

By Mario Cabradilla

Lethbridge police to conduct random check stops for impaired driving

Jun 30, 2022 | 7:19 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) will be conducting random check stops throughout the summer for impaired driving. The LPS also encourages the public to continue working with officers by reporting impaired drivers.

According to the LPS, one in ten drivers involved in a fatal collision in the province was driving while impaired.

The LPS stated in a news release June 30, 2022, “Every single driver can make a difference, and save lives, by making the smart decision to find a safe way home instead of driving impaired.”

The LPS says impaired driving is the focus for its Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) for the month of July 2022. As part of its awareness program, the LPS released the following statistics on impaired driving:

• Most impaired driving collisions happen at night. In 2019, 47.6 per cent of impaired driving casualty collisions occurred between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.
• Approximately 8,600 people were convicted of impaired driving in Alberta annually over the last five years, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
• In 2019, men between the ages of 25 and 34 were most likely to have been legally impaired in a casualty collision than any other group

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

Police say combining cannabis with alcohol further intensifies the effects on driving skills, even if the doses of either substance are low.

According to police, research shows that cannabis use can reduce many cognitive and motor skills that are required to drive safely. These include attention, reaction time, visual function, concentration, and short-term memory.

Police also say the effects of cannabis edibles take longer to kick in and last much longer than inhaling the drug. It may take up to two hours to feel the effects, which could then last for several hours.

Health Canada’s 2021 Canadian Cannabis Survey shows that 21 per cent of people who used cannabis in the past 12 months reported driving within two hours of using the drug, and 35 per cent of those respondents had done so within the past 30 days.

Police say despite these statistics, people understand the dangers of impaired driving. The number of people killed by legally impaired drivers has actually decreased in recent years. In 2019, a total of 66 people were killed by a legally impaired driver in Canada, which is the lowest number of fatalities since data started being collected in 1986.

Motorists are being advised that police check stops will be set up across the city throughout the summer.

Read more Lethbridge News Now.