By Thia James

MADD, RCMP team up to catch drunk drivers

Dec 24, 2014 | 5:51 AM

Flashing emergency lights lit up the late evening sky on Monday along the southbound approach to Prince Albert on Highway 2.

Drivers incoming to the city were pulled aside for a check stop operated by the Prince Albert chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and members of the RCMP.

They have been holding check stops on along highways leading out of the city over the past few days.

A few days earlier, they held one on Saturday, east on Highway 302. The two-hour check stop on Saturday resulted in a roadside suspension, the impounding of a vehicle and two other tickets.

MADD community leader Trina Cockle said she was surprised by the results. She cited something the RCMP officer conducting the stop told her: in nine years of holding the stops, they hadn’t caught anyone.

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“So, I wasn’t really expecting to see any hard results from the check stop, so I was actually completely blown away and so was he.”

On one hand, Cockle said they’re happy to get the impaired drivers off the road, but on the other hand, she said it doesn’t feel very good. That’s because the question then becomes whether or not the message about drinking and driving is getting out to everyone.

More check stops are planned for this holiday season. They’re looking to hold as many checks as MADD can get to and as many as the RCMP is able to plan, Cockle said.

“With 40 volunteers, we have a pretty diverse group of people who can come out and help us out. And a lot of us are on holidays right now, so it works good for us and for them.”

In the months since the chapter’s formation, it’s attracted a significant number of interested volunteers, which Cockle said has been overwhelming.

And now’s the right time for the checks, because at this time of the year, there’s a higher rate of drinking and driving and accidents, according to Cockle.

The partnership between it and the RCMP was an easy one. After the formation of the Prince Albert chapter of MADD, Cockle met with the Prince Albert Police Service, City officials and the RCMP. She said with the RCMP was “hugely” receptive to what MADD wanted to do and were eager to work with the organization.

“So, it all came together quite easily, I didn’t really have to beg anybody to help us out. It’s nice to work with someone like that, that was excited to have us there as we were to be there. It was awesome. They were just a great group of guys.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames