Impaired driving continues to contribute to fatal and injury collisions on Alberta’s roads. During the holidays, incidents of impaired driving increase as people celebrate the season and take to the province’s roads and highways. Since Dec. 1, 2020, more than 23,000 Immediate Roadside Sanctions FAIL penalties have been issued for alcohol- or drug-related driving under the Immediate Roadside Sanction Program.
Those who drive impaired risk the safety and lives of themselves and others. Drivers who are caught driving while impaired could also face large fines, have an interlock device on their vehicle for at least a year and lose their vehicle for up to 30 days.
Impaired driving includes impairment by alcohol, drugs, fatigue, distraction or a combination of these factors.
Research shows increased collision risk begins at very low levels of cannabis and alcohol use and escalates with each dose, and that combining these substances dramatically increases the risk of being in a collision.
Quick facts
- One in 13 drivers in fatal collisions in 2021 were legally impaired at the time of the crash.
- In 2021, 20 people died and another 450 were injured in collisions involving an impaired driver.