Traffic Crackdown in Red Deer

[sweetchariot]

Jan 11 2006
Traffic crackdown



Red Deer drunk driving charges in 2005 surged 41 per cent ahead of 2004 numbers and have increased a staggering 100 per cent since 2002, RCMP report.
Sgt. Bob Bell, head of city RCMP traffic services, said on Tuesday that there were 480 impaired driving charges laid last year, compared with 341 in 2004.
In 2002, the number of charges was 240 and in 2003 it was 266.
Bell said police will implement a year-round CheckStop program intended to reduce impaired driving.
Photo radar and red light camera tickets issued also increased significantly in 2005 compared with 2004 figures.
Photo radar tickets increased more than 2,000 last year, to 17,144 from 15,033 in 2004.
Red light camera tickets jumped almost 200 to 1,277 in 2005 from 1,090 in 2004.
Seatbelt infractions also jumped in 2005 to 1,871 tickets issued compared with 1,475 the previous year.
Bell said the major reason for the increases in 2005 was increased enforcement.
“That’s exactly what it was and we could probably double those numbers again,” with more enforcement, Bell said in reference to drunk driving charges.
Peggy Gougeon, president of the Red Deer chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), said she’s not surprised by the increase.
She said many drunk drivers don’t think it’s a crime.
“To me, it’s like they get in that car with a loaded weapon.”
She agrees with police that the drunks are out there and increased enforcement is catching more.
Gougeon said RCMP are working hard to reduce the number of drunk drivers. “They’re going into schools and increasing the CheckStops.”
Bell said manpower is always a factor.
“If we had more people, we could reduce the number of collisions and the number of injuries in this city.
“We could make a real difference if there were more of us.”
Bell said the number of collisions increased somewhat from 2004 numbers but he didn’t have final figures.
The collision number in 2004 was 3,229, up from 2,633 in 2003.
Increased traffic is a major cause.
Bell said the increased CheckStops also help reduce crimes and catch people wanted on outstanding warrants.
“When we’re out there and visible, there’s less stealing and break-ins going on.”
He said some criminals are less likely to travel when the police presence is increased.
The heightened CheckStops also increased seatbelt tickets.
Other drivers breaking traffic laws such as driving with suspended licences or no insurance should also be wary.
Bell said he’s surprised the number of photo radar tickets increased 14 per cent in 2004.
But the 2005 figure still doesn’t match the first year of photo radar in 2000, at 18,096.
“They’ve had the same minivan out enforcing the limits for years and they’re usually at the same locations over and over again.”
He said the number of enforcement hours hasn’t increased much.
September, April and June were the months with the most tickets, each at more than 1,824.
A September seatbelt survey conducted by Transport Canada in the city is a little puzzling, Bell said.
The four-hour survey totalled 860 vehicles. It revealed that seatbelt compliance was only 78.5 per cent or a drop of almost 10 per cent from a similar survey in 2001.
Bell said he believes the numbers may be a little off.
He said when he sits in his vehicle, even if he’s off duty, he observes seatbelt use and finds its higher than the survey figures.
“I tend to have a hard time believing those number.
“When we do CheckStops, we have a hard time detecting (people not wearing seatbelts).
“If we can get people to wear seatbelts we’ll see less people going to hospital for treatment of injuries.”
By jack wilson
Advocate staff

[iceburns288]

Excellent

Normally if they were doing cash-raking like with speed traps and such it'd be annoying, but as long as it catches more DUIs... I'm all for it.

[pinoyhero]

I agree with iceburns, if its a cash grab, not so cool, but putting away people that are truly endangering society is great if they have the resources.

[googe]

^^did you not read it?

they are doing speed traps, as well as seatbelt crackdowns

checkstops
photo radar
seatbelt tickets

[95EagleAWD]

Originally posted by googe



seatbelt tickets

You serious?

Not wearing a seatbelt = you're a tool.

Seatbelt ticket:

[Tyler883]

OMG!!! it looks like you might have to follow all traffic laws when you are in Red Deer!?!?!?!?!?!

[Kirbs17]

Red Deer drunk driving charges in 2005 surged 41 per cent ahead of 2004 numbers and have increased a staggering 100 per cent since 2002, RCMP report.

Thats not surprising... As soon as the rigs heat up, the 18-25 year olds get more money, think they're invincible when they come back for a week, and drunk driving/drunk violence sky rockets in red deer.. Glad to see they're finally doing something about it

[Maxt]

Originally posted by 95EagleAWD


You serious?

Not wearing a seatbelt = you're a tool.

Seatbelt ticket:

I am not sure of your age, but to alot of us the seatbelt thing still doesnt compute. Everyone thats in there 30's in this forum grew up before the era of seatbelts babyseats etc etc
If you look at the safety avalanche thats its hit society in the last 15 years its kinda funny, being that the we made it this far without being in a child seat as kid, never wearing a seatbelt as child or teen, bicycling , skiing, and skateboarding without helmets. On top of that our parents cars had bias ply tires, no antilock brakes , no traction control, no third brake lights, no child safety door locks, no speed limiters, while speed limits have decreased across Canada etc etc ... The list goes on and on, and guess what people still fucking die every year, and the government makes more and more money off the fining those that dont buy into it...
Man those were the days as a kid, riding in the box of the truck with your friends on a hot summer day going fishing, whoops cant to that anymore either, the world might stop spinning...

I hate to say it , but the war on drunk driving is alot like the war on drugs, almost pointless... It will go on as along as cars and booze are both part of our lives. And those that do get caught, either get special driving conditions, get off on a technicality or just drive illegally.. I dont know anyone with one imparied conviction, I do know some people though with multiple convictions. It should carry a 1 year mandatory jail sentence.

[googe]

Originally posted by 95EagleAWD


You serious?

Not wearing a seatbelt = you're a tool.

Seatbelt ticket:

notice i said doing seatbelt stings is lame, i didnt advocate not wearing a seatbelt. as far as im concerned, if someone doesnt wear a seatbelt theyll only be hurting themselves and if cops have nothing better to do than crack down on seatbelts then they should hire less and waste less tax dollars trying to enforce petty crap. myself i wear my seatbelt 100% of the time, thats besides the point.

[95EagleAWD]

Originally posted by googe


notice i said doing seatbelt stings is lame, i didnt advocate not wearing a seatbelt. as far as im concerned, if someone doesnt wear a seatbelt theyll only be hurting themselves and if cops have nothing better to do than crack down on seatbelts then they should hire less and waste less tax dollars trying to enforce petty crap. myself i wear my seatbelt 100% of the time, thats besides the point.

Well, if you wear your seatbelt 100% of the time, then what's the problem with traffic cops checking to make sure people are wearing them? It's the law, it's not petty crap, seatbelts save lives. Why people don't wear them is beyond me... they're not uncomfortable, they don't restrict you... they'll just save you from going through the windshield.

[googe]

Originally posted by 95EagleAWD


Well, if you wear your seatbelt 100% of the time, then what's the problem with traffic cops checking to make sure people are wearing them? It's the law, it's not petty crap, seatbelts save lives. Why people don't wear them is beyond me... they're not uncomfortable, they don't restrict you... they'll just save you from going through the windshield.

did you not read what i just said?

[Alex_FORD]

Originally posted by 95EagleAWD


Well, if you wear your seatbelt 100% of the time, then what's the problem with traffic cops checking to make sure people are wearing them? It's the law, it's not petty crap, seatbelts save lives. Why people don't wear them is beyond me... they're not uncomfortable, they don't restrict you... they'll just save you from going through the windshield.

Actually my seatbelt does restrict me.

I can't turn on my wipers or adjust my heater without taking the seat belt off ( fucken ford trucks)

[blueToy]

Originally posted by Maxt

I am not sure of your age, but to alot of us the seatbelt thing still doesnt compute. Everyone thats in there 30's in this forum grew up before the era of seatbelts babyseats etc etc
If you look at the safety avalanche thats its hit society in the last 15 years its kinda funny, being that the we made it this far without being in a child seat as kid, never wearing a seatbelt as child or teen, bicycling , skiing, and skateboarding without helmets. On top of that our parents cars had bias ply tires, no antilock brakes , no traction control, no third brake lights, no child safety door locks, no speed limiters, while speed limits have decreased across Canada etc etc ... The list goes on and on, and guess what people still fucking die every year, and the government makes more and more money off the fining those that dont buy into it...
Man those were the days as a kid, riding in the box of the truck with your friends on a hot summer day going fishing, whoops cant to that anymore either, the world might stop spinning...

I hate to say it , but the war on drunk driving is alot like the war on drugs, almost pointless... It will go on as along as cars and booze are both part of our lives. And those that do get caught, either get special driving conditions, get off on a technicality or just drive illegally.. I dont know anyone with one imparied conviction, I do know some people though with multiple convictions. It should carry a 1 year mandatory jail sentence.

Wow . Just wondering . Have you been in a serious car accident , or are you just showing early signs of dementia ?

I'm over thirty , hell I'm over 40 , but I'll be damned if I were to ever put a vehicle in gear without my seatbelt . I'm old enough to remember the people that died horrific deaths with their noggins smushed all over the windshields and dash . I've actually watched a old man pass away on my parents lawn after his vehicle was t-boned at a intersection near their home . He was ejected from the vehicle . Very sad , and a really unnecessary death ( truck that hit his vehicle contained three drunks fresh out of the Highlander ).


Your appathy towards check stops is what really scares me . Living in a lawless society would be uncivilized . If you don't like it , or can't deal with it , why not get out ? Plenty of third world countries , ignorant and backwards , could suit your needs . Hell , most of the cars in those countries don't even have seatbelts . You'd be in heaven ....

[blueToy]

Originally posted by googe


theyll only be hurting themselves

Here is your big mistake . The majority of those injured in car accidents and are not belted in , or even those who don't like wearing helmuts and fall off of whatever their riding ( be it quads , dirtbikes , even bicycles ) usually end up with some form of brain damage . In some cases , they recover and everything is great , but in most cases , brain injured patients become a strain on community and family services . You no longer are just hurting yourself , because you no longer can take care of yourself . Yes , there are varing degrees of brain injuries ,and some learn to deal with it very well . But lots don't . What a lot of people don't realise , or don't want to , is that your brain is a very , very sensitive and complex organ . Easily injured , and usually very slow to heal , if it heals at all .
I had a fella working for me this year who got all pissed up , had a fight with GF , then got onto a buddies bike to head to another bar . Booze and bravado make a leathal combination . He ended up waking up in the hospital four days later , and although he has worked extememly hard to rejoin society ( at a huge cost to all tax payers , not to mention all the emotional stress to his loved ones ) , he'll never be the person he once was . Nor will he be able to do anything more complicated then what a 10 year old could do .
So , again , it's just not you hurting yourself . Thats just obtuse thinking . Just my too ....

[Gondi Stylez]

Originally posted by Alex_FORD


Actually my seatbelt does restrict me.

I can't turn on my wipers or adjust my heater without taking the seat belt off ( fucken ford trucks)

[gt4]

seatbelts do save lives, but i beleive it's bs that we are forced to wear them. we are adults not little kids. we are capable of making our own decisions. ticketing to save our selves from ourselve is just an exuse to take our money. tickets used to be 50 60 dollars now they are 2-300 dollars. how do they justify that.
we pay for health care and some of use never use it's service or very rarely. there are people who abuse the health care system and have nothing wrong with them. how is that not a burden on society or the health care system? i don't see the police or government doing anything about that. bottom line I DON"T THINK ANYONE HAS THE RITE TO TELL YOU AN ADULT THAT YOU HAVE TO WEAR YOUR SEATBELT, HELMIT OR THAT YOU CAN"T RIDE IN THE BACK OF A TRUCK. it's your life and you should be able to do what ever you like with it so long as you are not harming anyone else. there are a lot of thingsthat are a burden to society that are not ticketed for. by the way some yaers they do 100 check stops and others they do 10 so of corse the numbers are going to be astonashing. the same statistics could be used in many different ways to supporrt many different statments.

[blueToy]

Originally posted by gt4
seatbelts do save lives, but i beleive it's bs that we are forced to wear them. we are adults not little kids. we are capable of making our own decisions. ticketing to save our selves from ourselve is just an exuse to take our money. tickets used to be 50 60 dollars now they are 2-300 dollars. how do they justify that.
we pay for health care and some of use never use it's service or very rarely. there are people who abuse the health care system and have nothing wrong with them. how is that not a burden on society or the health care system? i don't see the police or government doing anything about that. bottom line I DON"T THINK ANYONE HAS THE RITE TO TELL YOU AN ADULT THAT YOU HAVE TO WEAR YOUR SEATBELT, HELMIT OR THAT YOU CAN"T RIDE IN THE BACK OF A TRUCK. it's your life and you should be able to do what ever you like with it so long as you are not harming anyone else. there are a lot of thingsthat are a burden to society that are not ticketed for. by the way some yaers they do 100 check stops and others they do 10 so of corse the numbers are going to be astonashing. the same statistics could be used in many different ways to supporrt many different statments.

Helmit ... thats cute .


Again , let's run through this more simply . We'll start from the beginning .

Being a adult , in most societies , means you have to nut up and take responcibilities for yourself . You know , change your own diaper . For most , it happens around 18-20 where you stop whining about how everything sucks and the world is unfair , and you start to do something worthwhile , like obey laws , volenteer , find a significant other , buy a home , get a good job , etc . You know , do thing most grown ups have done in the past or are currently doing . This usually makes for a healthy, growing community .
BUT , sometimes , it doesn't always work out so good . Here comes Johnny Bravado who thinks his shiat don't stink and the world revolves around him . Cocky and cool are his middle name . He doen't need rules . He doesn't need any stupid laws . He's better then the average fool . He's made it to 25 and broken almost every law around ,and he's still alive .
Well , one day , dear old Johnny is cruising down the deerfoot , oblivious to all around him , cutting in and out of traffic and on his phone . On top of the world really because he can handle anything . Unfortunately , one small error in judgment , say , he got an incoming call and had to momentarily look at his phone , has him just cross the lane slightly and tap into the vehicle next to him . Now , normally , this might not have been devastating, except today the vehicle he hit happens to be a fully loaded Kenworth . The aftermath of his error has Johnny now splattered up into a tangled mess of bone and blood and steel and glass , but luckily ( because he's Johnny Bravo ) he's survived !! The problem though , is that in the time Johnny got tossed around in his car , he banged his head off of a few things , and now arrives in the Emergency Ward of the local hospital as a possible brain injured patient . So , what Johnny failed to realize was that by his own disreguard for his own safety , he's now sitting in a emergency room , bones broken and brain injured .Well ,the broken bones will heal , but the brian injury is another story . One way to familiar to hospital workers around the world .
Some brain injuries are not too bad .Maybe a lifetime of the odd headache . Some others though , turn the healthiest of humans into babbeling vegetables who can't even wipe the drool from their faces . And who do you think takes care of those cases ? Their families ? Maybe , if they have one . And if they don't ? They may become wards of the government . You and me . We may also be reponcible to pay for all his medical bills , legal bills , even all the damage to the others in the accident because he was Johnny Cool , and why pay insurance , eh ?
Anyway , I'm making light of a very serious and common problem . As a group . As a society ; as a community of humans living together , we are only as strong as the weakest link . Thats why laws are put in place , to even out the playing field for everyone . Someone , at some point , figured out that what's best for us in the long run is to impliment certain laws to basically try and keep us from become yet another grim statistic , another possible future drain on society . Thats why we've got signal lights .thats why we've got speed limits , that's why we have rules of the road . You don't want to follow them , either have enough cash to pay for it ,or take public transit and let others take responcibility for you .

[googe]

Originally posted by blueToy






Here is your big mistake . The majority of those injured in car accidents and are not belted in , or even those who don't like wearing helmuts and fall off of whatever their riding ( be it quads , dirtbikes , even bicycles ) usually end up with some form of brain damage . In some cases , they recover and everything is great , but in most cases , brain injured patients become a strain on community and family services . You no longer are just hurting yourself , because you no longer can take care of yourself . Yes , there are varing degrees of brain injuries ,and some learn to deal with it very well . But lots don't . What a lot of people don't realise , or don't want to , is that your brain is a very , very sensitive and complex organ . Easily injured , and usually very slow to heal , if it heals at all .
I had a fella working for me this year who got all pissed up , had a fight with GF , then got onto a buddies bike to head to another bar . Booze and bravado make a leathal combination . He ended up waking up in the hospital four days later , and although he has worked extememly hard to rejoin society ( at a huge cost to all tax payers , not to mention all the emotional stress to his loved ones ) , he'll never be the person he once was . Nor will he be able to do anything more complicated then what a 10 year old could do .
So , again , it's just not you hurting yourself . Thats just obtuse thinking . Just my too ....

thats a fair argument, but unfortunately its not the reason behind these crackdowns and we all know it. for me to buy into it, the police force would have to NOT profit off writing tickets, especially seatbelt type tickets. only then will they get any credibility, until then its a conflict of interest and yet another cash grab.

personally i think a good solution would be to deny health care to anyone injured doing something illegal. cant see that happening anytime soon though

[Maxt]

Originally posted by blueToy




Wow . Just wondering . Have you been in a serious car accident , or are you just showing early signs of dementia ?

I'm over thirty , hell I'm over 40 , but I'll be damned if I were to ever put a vehicle in gear without my seatbelt . I'm old enough to remember the people that died horrific deaths with their noggins smushed all over the windshields and dash . I've actually watched a old man pass away on my parents lawn after his vehicle was t-boned at a intersection near their home . He was ejected from the vehicle . Very sad , and a really unnecessary death ( truck that hit his vehicle contained three drunks fresh out of the Highlander ).


Your appathy towards check stops is what really scares me . Living in a lawless society would be uncivilized . If you don't like it , or can't deal with it , why not get out ? Plenty of third world countries , ignorant and backwards , could suit your needs . Hell , most of the cars in those countries don't even have seatbelts . You'd be in heaven ....

What magic insight do you have to know for a fact he would have lived if he had not been ejected, you dont, so you are talking out of your ass.
And guess what, I have seen the same carnage involving people who have bought into the safety mantra... The world is full of ugly stories and death, with and witout seatbelts, but anecdotes dont save lives...
People like you will be wrapping their kids in plastic bubblewrap in a few years...

[nadroj23]

why i like this, because they are actually doin something to make the roads safer. seatbelts are just a cash grab yeah might be a cash grab but you know the rules you know you will be ticketed for it so why not wear your seatbelt.

if you abide by the rules of the road there will be no problems with tickets for you. i havent had a ticket for anything in the last year why because i have goin the speedlimit not following to closely wearing my seatbelt. so i havent had problem with this shit, neither should you, it wouldnt be a cash grab if everyonedid wear their seatbelts, drove the speed limit, but since people have to pay money its a cash grab????

THEY ARE RULES YOU HAVE TO ABIDE BY DONT LIKE THEM TAKE THE FUCKIN BUS......