RCMP issue over 1,600 traffic-related tickets over Labour Day weekend

Alberta RCMP. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)

Alberta RCMP released the numbers for Labour Day long weekend traffic infractions, many of which are down from last year – but Mounties emphasized traffic safety continues to be a “shared responsibility.”

Between Aug. 29 and Sept. 1, 1,661 tickets were issued as part of an annual enhanced traffic safety enforcement for the long weekend.

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Of those 1,661 tickets, 789 were for speeding, 34 for distracted driving and 19 for not wearing a seatbelt, said an RCMP release Wednesday.

Impaired drivers were still out in droves, 99 of them being removed from roads, 70 receiving immediate roadside sanction fails and 19 getting warnings.

There were also 54 collisions, RCMP said, which caused injuries and resulted in four deaths.

Alberta Traffic Sgt. Darrin Turnbull said fatal motor vehicle collisions are “often avoidable.”

“We are reminded of this every long weekend when lives are lost due to factors such as drugs, alcohol and speeding,” Turnbull said in the release.

Last Labour Day long weekend, the Alberta RCMP issued 990 speeding tickets, 35 distracted driving tickets and 55 tickets for not wearing a seatbelt.

92 drug or alcohol-impaired drivers were removed from roads, according to a safety release from RCMP on Friday.

“Alberta RCMP is urging everyone to remember that there is no reason to get behind the wheel if you are impaired,” the release said. “If road conditions are unfavourable, consider delaying travel until they improve, and always give yourself extra time to get where you’re going.”