Stettler RCMP handed out 28 tickets this weekend as part of the national impaired driving campaign, though none were for impaired driving.
Police stopped 64 vehicles and of the 28 charges, most were traffic safety act charges for issues such as speeding and improper modifications such as window tint on the windshield or front passenger or driver side windows and blacked-out tail or running lights.
Four tickets were written under the gaming and liquor act for open liquor or easy access to liquor in a motor vehicle.
Detachment Commander Sgt. Duncan Babchuk said his constables reported a “relatively quiet” weekend, something he said he believed is in part due to the return of cold temperatures.
Provincially, RCMP laid three impaired driving-drug charges, 44 impaired driving-alcohol charges, issued 37 roadside suspensions for alcohol and 15 for drugs and passed 36 people with roadside sobriety tests. Police checked 9,641 vehicles over 724 personnel hours during the weekend. Seventy-four detachments took part in the initiative and 83 check stops were conducted in the province.
Babchuk said that window tint continues to be one of the frequent traffic infractions that police issue tickets or warnings over, which is unfortunate because the people having the tint applied often don’t know it’s not legal on the front windows of the vehicle.
Other infractions that aren’t always on people’s radars are the use of licence plate covers, or wearing the chestbelt of a seatbelt under the arm or behind the back.
“I remember when wearing seatbelts first (became law),” Babchuk said. “They just had the lap belts and it didn’t stop your head from hitting the dash.”
Tucking a seatbelt under an arm can cause the belt to crush the ribs in a collision, and wearing it behind the back can cause head injuries as a sudden stop would propel the head forward into the dash or steering wheel.
Babchuk also spoke out against people who blacked out their tail lights or running lights, the lights on the side of a vehicle.
“We had three rear-end collisions last year in fog because of blacked-out tail lights,” he said. “It doesn’t even look good.”
Blacking out the tail lights also eliminates the reflective aspect of the lights, which is present even when they aren’t lit. This makes these vehicles a roadside hazard if they’re parked, since the altered lights won’t reflect oncoming headlights.
There are several different fines someone with blacked-out headlights can face, but at minimum drivers can expect a $115 fine and the potential of having the vehicle towed and impounded.
On the other end of the spectrum are individuals switching to the brighter, whiter LED lights in vehicles.
These lights are being used in vehicles’ main headlights and fog lights and, when installed in vehicles not designed for them, can be overwhelmingly bright to oncoming traffic.
“They can see, but they’re making it impossible for oncoming traffic,” Babchuk said.
This “pet peeve” of police is something Babchuk said the detachment is looking to crack down on, because a lot of people are getting bad advice and putting money out on LED lights when the vehicle lamps aren’t designed to focus the light properly.
Like the blacked-out headlights, fines can start at $115 and result in a tow, depending at how overwhelmingly bright the LED lights are.
Further, operators can be required to bring their vehicle to the RCMP for inspection by a certain date to show the lights have been replaced with the typical candescent bulb – and failure to comply with the order can land the individual another $280 fine.