Police launch checkstop on National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day

With holiday festivities well underway, police are out to prevent people from driving while impaired throughout December. Tyler Barrow reports.

Calgary police launched a checkstop Saturday night on Stoney Trail -- and it didn’t take long to identify impaired drivers on National Impaired Driving Enforcement Day.

“We’ve been out here for 30 minutes,” said Calgary police Staff Sgt. Andy Woodward. “And unfortunately, we’ve already got a fail and a warn.”

Calgary police partnered with Alberta Sheriffs, Tsuut’ina Nation Police, RCMP, and local districts for the event, along with a representative from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Woodward said the message from the event was pretty clear, but needs repeating.

“You shouldn’t drink if you’re driving,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Woodward said there have already been five fatal collisions in 2025 that involved impaired driving, as well as over 100 criminal code charges and close to 2,200 impaired immediate roadside sanctions (IRS).

He said police have ways of testing for cannabis as well.

“We can trace cannabis by taking blood and we are finding that these people are now trying to avoid the drink drive side of things and are driving impaired through drugs.”

He also reminded drivers that police enforce impaired driving year-round.

“You don’t see such high visibility as you do tonight and we do step it up to a certain extent tonight, but it is 24/7, 365 days a year,” he said.

Aaron Libby, the president of MADD Calgary, lost his cousin to an impaired driver in New Brunswick and was struck head-on by an impaired driver 12 years ago, said there’s never been more ways to get a ride home.

“With all the parties – it’s 100 per cent preventable,“ Libby said. ”There’s no need for anybody to drive impaired."