Drinking and driving needs to be taken more seriously in Calgary
Posted by Tyler Kinch on December 9th, 2006
I was watching a local news channel last night, and there was a story about the taxi cab shortage in Calgary.
The reason this is a huge concern is because of the holidays, which means more drinking, and without cabs, more drink and driving. It’s a fact, drinking and driving does go up during the holidays.
So with more drinking and driving, shouldn’t there be more check stops? Nope! At least according to the Calgary Police; during the news story on the taxi cab shortage they had a spokesperson from the Calgary Police stating that it’s not their job to baby sit the population, and that they will not increase check stops.
Okay, I agree, you don’t need to baby sit the population. But your job is certainly to protect the public! It’s not just about protecting the people who get behind the wheel drunk; it’s more about protecting the other innocent motorists and pedestrians who get murdered by drunk drivers everyday across Canada.
Ever since moving out to Calgary, I’ve only ran into one check stop. When I lived in Penticton BC, we would run into dozens of check stops each month. I hear about so many more drunk driving stories here in Calgary, than I did in BC. When I moved to Alberta and attended high school, neither the teachers nor anyone else from the school ever talked about drinking and driving, not even once. In BC, I couldn’t go for a month of schooling without hearing about drinking and driving and its implications.
If I’ve only ran into one check stop, I bet you there are plenty of Calgarians who have never ran into one. So, what stops them from getting behind the wheel drunk? Common knowledge that drinking and driving is bad? I fear that a lot of people don’t know the seriousness of drinking and driving, as they don’t seem to be teaching it enough in school in Alberta. Also even if a person does know drinking and driving is dangerous, but they can’t get a taxi cab until 45 minutes later, and they know that the chances of running into a check stop is very low, they might make a bad judgement call and get behind the wheel drunk.
So it is the Calgary Police’s job to protect me and other citizens. By not implementing more check stops, they are failing to do this. It is also the job of our educational system to teach about the seriousness of drinking and driving, by not making it mandatory in the curriculum for Grade 11 and Grade 12 students (Those are the years I went to school in Alberta, there probably is more years that they don’t teach it.), the government and educational system is failing us.
The cab shortage is also a problem. But a shortage of cabs is not a crime, drinking and driving is, and there is no excuse for it. The police should do their job and deter drinking and driving in every way possible, and take the people who continue to drink and drive off the streets.
December 10th, 2006 at 12:29 am
Oh man, I just moved to Calgary over the summer, and the drunk driving s truly ridiculous here. I thought it was bad where I used to live, in a college town with awesome roads in the middle of nowhere where there were never cops, but standing on a friend’s balcony overlooking an alley and watching people stumble into their cars, and then weave to the main road, was pretty frightening and made me pretty happy not to have a life/go onto the streets on Friday and Saturday nights.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Now that I think about it, I’ve only gone through one checkstop in Alberta, but I’ve gone through quite a few in Summerland/Pentiction, yet I spend a lot more time in Alberta.
Is Calgary like Edmonton in that the transit system stops running hours before the bars let out? I’m sure that complicates the situation.
When this issue came up in Edmonton a couple weeks ago I was reading that the city hasn’t issued any new taxi licenses for several years, which seems ridiculous considering how much the population has increased over the last few years.
December 19th, 2006 at 4:01 am
We used to have CheckStops. Oh, and I seem to remember an abundance of Radar/”SUV driving, Cell phone toting, speeding, ignorant and don’t forget arrogant, Idiot Traps. And well, I think we had COPS on the ROAD every once in awhile a long time ago too. I haven’t even seen Photo Radar, everyone’s favourite, out and running. And well, I hate to say it, but the Cops aren’t all out concentrating on other issues - they seem to have disappeared altogether! Our MVC fatalities this year must be up a thousand percent. And Denny, as absolutely ridiculous as it is, our transit does indeed stop running HOURS before the bars let out. Good thinking. EVEN ON NEW YEARS EVE. Oh, but it’s FREE that night.. The city won’t increase the cab license cap (1500 for a city of a million with over 20 000 calls to cab companies A DAY?) and, try as they might to blame the labour shortage for the lack of cabs (this excuse is getting a little tired) - I invite everybody here to visit the Calgary airport - drive up to the arrivals/departures levels, and look to your right - you’ll see something that looks like a parking lot - but wait, all the cars are running, and hey! They are ALL taxis! 200 of ‘em! Never less than 150 all day every day. Just sitting there, idling and polluting, maybe getting the odd fare! That is by far and away the most mind blowing STUPID fact in all of this, and it’s one that most Calgarians, and this is done very much so on purpose, are not aware of! So far, CFCN (Calgary CTV) is the only media station I have seen with a story and investigation… but that story made it pretty obvious to me that there will be no changes here. This city is going to fall in on itself. I cannot believe the shortsightedness of those who are supposed to care..
December 19th, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Hopefully things will change. I know I will continue doing all I can to make sure that problems in the city do get lighted sheded onto them, that would otherwise be ignored.
Theres a lot that can be done, just a lack of will from the people in power.
December 23rd, 2006 at 6:17 pm
We need less checkstops! how am I going to get to a bar, nearer to my home, prior to last call, if the roads are plugged up with cops asking: “have you had anything to drink tonight?”. Checkstops are for babysitting. responsible adults drink with a nice beer or rye & coke between there legs and stay below 0.08 or just smoke a fatty.
December 23rd, 2006 at 6:34 pm
Checkstops are not that much of a delay in an overall trip. Maybe 2 or 3 minutes more, and I’d much rather be delayed that long then have dangerous drivers on the road.
You shouldn’t be driving to a bar if you are planning to drink anyways.