Courtesy: PR RCMP
Peace Regional RCMP’s Alberta Traffic Unit find semi drivers impaired in Manning
Manning, Alta. – On April 25, 2025, just after 8:00 P.M., members of the RCMP Alberta Traffic Unit and Manning RCMP, were conducting a checkstop in the area of Highway 35 in downtown Manning where approximately 162 drivers were stopped.
During the checkstop, one semi driver with a Super-B tractor-trailer completed the mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) and the approved screening device (ASD), showed the driver had a blood-alcohol concentration of 45 mg%.
Under Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act (TSA), there is a zero tolerance for alcohol with drivers of commercial vehicles over a defined gross weight or seating capacity.
This driver’s licence was suspended and seized for three days, as per the TSA Immediate Roadside Sanction (IRS) program.
Shortly after, a similar Super-B tractor-trailer was stopped and MAS was conducted. This driver’s ASD sample read FAIL, meaning the driver was over 80 mg% which is the legal limit under the Criminal Code of Canada.
The driver was arrested and charged under the TSA IRS program and will be dealing with a license suspension up to 15 months, a $1,200 fine and a 30-day seizure of the vehicle.
The MAS provision of the Criminal Code of Canada came into force in December of 2018. Prior to that, police officer s had to form reasonable suspicion a driver had alcohol in their body while operating a motor vehicle in order to make an ASD breath demand. Under MAS, a peace officer can demand a breath sample immediately from a driver when lawfully stopping a vehicle.
The current Alberta IRS program has also been in effect since 2018. Subsequent offences under the program progressively increases suspensions and penalties. Police Officers still have the discretion to lay charges under the Criminal Code for impaired driving, depending on circumstances.
The Alberta RCMP is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the location of, or sightings of any impaired drivers. Anyone with information in relation to an impaired driver is asked to please contact your local police via 911 if it is an emergency, or by calling 310-RCMP (7267) for non-emergencies. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8377 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
