Holiday Safety and Check Stops with MHPS

Sergeant Kurtis LaDouceur from the Medicine Hat Police Service discusses the importance of road safety during the holiday season, particularly focusing on impaired driving. The conversation covers the service's plans for check stops, the process of mandatory alcohol screening, and the implications of marijuana legalization on driving. Additionally, tips for party hosts to ensure guests get home safely are shared, along with a discussion on the positive trends observed in young drivers' choices regarding alcohol consumption and driving.

Transcript

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This episode of Bring Back the Porch, brought to you by Bernie Leahy, River Street Realty. Let's get you home. Welcome to the porch. I have a very special guest, Sergeant Kurtis LaDouceur from the Medicine Hat Police Service, traffic unit. Welcome to the porch. Thank you. We are here today because we are in December now. And it's a time of, lot of social gatherings. A lot of people want to have fun. There's Christmas party season has started, and there'll be events going on probably for the next 30 days. And it does bring up an issue that we have seen in our community, and that's people who are driving impaired. And so I'd like to talk to you a little bit about Chester. I'm assuming you're going to be having some, what what does the police service have in in mind for check up for December? We have, right now for scheduled check stops for December. And then what we also do in conjunction with that is we'll have, like, pop up check stops or, check stops on other days as well. So in addition to those four scheduled check stops, because we're we're promoting that road safety. December is is a busy month, like you said, with, you know, festivities and Christmas parties. But also there's a lot of road users out there because of shopping and and visiting friends and family and picking this up and dropping it off. And so the roads are, are getting busier during a time where the road conditions are, aren't very ideal. So they're getting slippery. They're getting a little bit more treacherous. So we've planned for check stops with a number of other check stops that will be more impromptu and and, Not less important, but less organized. Is there a, is it a, demand on the police service to do check stops? Like, is it hard for you guys to coordinate that? Is it extra man hours and extra time? It's extra time. But it's just like the holiday season. It's something that comes around and. And there's a number of officers that look forward to check stops. It's a good time to get together. It's a really great time to meet, the majority of the public that we don't usually get to see on a day to day basis. And it's nice we're out there. It's during the holiday season. People, the community is happy. They're friendly. You know, of course, we're taking up a little bit of their time, which we which we're very apologetic for. However, in exchange for that, we're ensuring that road safety. But it is a good time. Really great exchanges with the public and exchanges with different police officers. Could you walk me through the process of what happens at a check stop if I'm Joe Blow on the road and I encounter one, what should be my expectation of the the check stop? Sure. Where the check stop is going to be placed in in different areas. Where it's going to be safe for motorists. You're going to be coming to, to a stop. There may be a line of traffic, but we'll keep that in a minimum because we are looking towards, road safety and officer safety because we are standing out on the roads and there's a lot of lights, flashing lights. So be very, very careful coming up to a check stop. You come up to a check stop. And then there'll be a number of officers out there, so they may walk back to you that we may have, you know, 4 to 6 officers. So just because you're not at the front of the line doesn't mean you may not have an officer standing by your window. And then there will be the mandatory alcohol screening for the mass. That's something that came out in 2018. However, there's not a lot of people they get pulled over on a regular basis. So that might be new. And it's still new to a lot of people. Just to quickly explain that it's called mass, it's mandatory alcohol screening was brought into effect in 2018, as I said. And what it is is that, every vehicle they get stopped, the driver has to provide for must provide. Sorry, I use the correct vernacular. Must provide a breath sample. It takes a couple of a couple of minutes. It can be done while you're sitting in your car. With the officer that's at your window. It is mandatory. If there's a refusal, then we go down, a different path there. Anybody can provide a breath sample. And by that, what I mean is I've had given demonstrations where children have provided breath samples, elderly, asthma, anything like that. It doesn't hinder it. And, you provide your breath sample takes a couple of minutes. Speak with an officer, and then you'll be on your way as soon as possible. I think a lot of people would be surprised that. That the mandatory alcohol sampling isn't something where you have to go out and go into, say, a trailer or something and provide, like back in the day, it was sort of like you had to get out of the vehicle to do that. The fact that it's portable, is it, what does the mechanism look like that you use to do the sampling? Yeah. It's small. It looks like an all too often we say, well, it's about the size of a cell phone, but cell phones are. Well, they got smaller and now they're getting bigger again. So I guess it's about, you know, the size of both for cell phones stacked on top of each other. So it's a small device. It'll be in the, you know, the pocket of the the officer. Every time you provide a sample, there's a new mouthpiece. So you're not sharing a mouthpiece with anybody. Hygiene is strictly adhered to where we don't want to be passing anything back and forth. So it is it is, brand new mouthpieces every time. Now, I went off on a tangent and I probably forgot your question. Well, we were just describing what was happening right when you when you're stopped at a check stop. So. Yeah, the officer will come up, they'll say hi. Hello. How are you today? You need to do a mandatory, alcohol sample. Yeah. You blow into the machine. Yeah. And if you get it, does it get via green light if you're sober or does it? It's within seconds you'll get the response back. It'll be clear. I'm sure of it. You'll have a couple, you know, brief conversation with the officer, the holiday season. And and while we wait for the next car in front of you, and then you'll you'll go along in your way, all right? And we usually move a lot. Oh, I remember your question now. You said we used to get out of the cars and go. That's still something we do. It's the roadside screening is being more mobile now. We can bring that to to your vehicle. That's still that's still, an instrument that we use back at the police station or on a check stop bus. But that is when things kind of, evolve to a next step. And we that we do that this is just a screening device. That's what the majority of people are going to see. There has been changes in the laws around impairment, especially since they've legalized marijuana. How how do you check for that, for that kind of impairment? We have ways of checking for that impairment as well. And it is roadside screening. But it is, more with, a certain amount of trained officers that can deal with that. But the message really for the public would be treat drugs and and marijuana use now that it's legalized, the same as you would with alcohol if you've been using don't be driving. Have a plan. If you're planning on using make a plan before you go out. If you have been using, to your surprise, whatever your your plans changed, make plans, then make alternative methods. Don't use it in a vehicle. Treat it just like alcohol. You don't have it within reach of the the driver. You know, if you're in a vehicle, you know that you can't drink alcohol in the in the passenger seat of a vehicle. Don't use marijuana in the passenger seat of a vehicle. I, wanted to talk briefly about what I call party 101, and that is if I'm planning a party and I want to make sure people are getting home safe. Do you have any tips of what I could do as as the host, to make sure that my family and friends get home safe? Yeah, I would, and this is kind of just personally speaking about it. Make sure that there's something at your party that is still enjoyable for somebody who's not drinking or not partaking in anything else that would that would cause impairment. You nonalcoholic punches and beverages, things like that, or however you're going to set up your party and have it as a conversation before. This isn't, this isn't a full bar. It's not something we need to be embarrassed about. We can talk about and say, you know, make it out in the open. We've got we're planning this and planning this party. But I want to make sure that if you're going to come in and you're making certain decisions, that you've already made plans about it, or we've got, you know, a number of people that are planning on not drinking that night. So, yeah, it's really kind of common sense, idea that if you're if you're going to be serving beverages that you, you talk to your, your guests about the idea, are you going to partake? Do you want to stay here tonight? Do you have a are you getting a cab? You have a designated driver, those kinds of things. Absolutely. And we've got different laws and rules within the bars about over service and things like that. And we need to keep that in mind again, common sense. Well let's talk about it. Let's get it out in the open. And you know, if somebody is drinking too much. So then have a conversation with them. And you know, or if somebody is having a few drinks and you don't know what their plans are and that's at your party, you know, you you obviously care for this person to invite them to your party, care for them enough to ask them, do you have a plan? Do you need a hand? Have you thought about it? Would you like to stay here? Would you like to give me get you a ride home, whatever that looks like? I know that, it seems, generationally, it's different now. Compared to when I was a teenager. It was very, the adults would go to parties and they would have a good time, and it would be the last thing on their mind was who was get how are they going to get home now? It seems like the younger generation, the Gen Z, in that they plan to just stay home. They don't even want to be going to the bar or to the parties or anything like that. It's a very different, mindset that, you know, it's not about being out and being social, it's more about being in and, maybe sharing with your friends over zoom or whatever. They I have noticed, though, very recently we were at a function, a number of people that had drinks, took a cab home and came back the next day for their vehicle. Yeah. And, I, I know that at this time, priority for cabs is so high that people think, oh, maybe I'm okay, maybe I'll be all right. But I think the messages don't do that, right. Absolutely. Because the best result you can, you can hope for if you're going to try and drive impaired, is they get pulled over, you get a you get arrested and you get charged with impaired driving. And it affects your life, your insurance, your personal life, your could be your work life. It affects you greatly. And that's the best result you could hope for. If you're planning on driving impaired. And we all know the worst result, and the worst result isn't running into somebody like me. The worst result is running into somebody that didn't see you coming. And that's the worst part about it. I think, we should maybe talk about what happens if you were to, blow over. What is the immediate thing that happens? Is your car impounded? Are you arrested right away? What does that look like? If you've been caught, impaired driving. Right. So if you get caught, impaired driving, you are placed under arrest. Your car is towed and seized for a certain amount of time, and your driver's license is is, seized at that point. Then you go through the, the motions of providing a breath sample back at the police station, transported back to the police station, and, and then you are released with a further court date, but that that, criminal charge doesn't go anywhere, and that stays on there. So this is 100% preventable is what we'd maybe like our audience to know. And that is just don't do it. Just don't do it. And like you said, a few minutes ago is, you know, back when we were kids, you'd see that and you'd hear more about that or you hear the stories like, well, back in my day, we used to do that all the time. You know what is very interesting, which I've, which I've seen and seen over the past ten, 15 years even, is that the young people now who are driving, and who are well past the driving age now because I've been policing for a few years, is that I'm finding that young people, even, you know, between the ages of 16 and I guess 26 to 2 to 30, that mentality of I'm just going to I'm just going to wing it and try it on and see if I can get home. Or it's only for blocks or it's that mentality did not carry over through those generations like the young people now and, and, and I don't want to say young people under 30 makes me feel really old. But but everybody under 30 now has got a mentality where where they will find alternative routes home and, and the amount of, of young people that I've pulled over the, I've been drinking is surprisingly low. And they are doing such a fantastic job out there. And just keep doing keep it up, keep sending that message through the peer groups and through your friends, and carry it into adulthood. Pass it on to your children. Because if there is a huge difference and I've noticed that and it is, it is fantastic to see. I love seeing it. And every time I pull over a car and it's a young person driving it, I, you know, I'm not getting a paycheck on it, but they haven't been drinking and if they have, they're sitting in the passenger seat. And it's so fantastic to see. And I think that it needed it needs to be said yes, because all too often people see police or, or they're getting some sort of, a message from the police. And it's always, they'll do this will catch you. Don't do this. We'll charge you, we'll do it. And it's always kind of a doom and gloom. On the other side, where in actual fact, there's some fantastic people making fantastic choices out there and en masse. It is a lot of people making this choice, and it is really great to see. We've done approximately 145 impaired driving charges this year alone, which seems like a lot, but with the amount of people driving and the amount of driving that people do, that's not too bad. We can get better for sure. We can do a lot better than that, but we're doing not too bad right now. Well, I'm very happy to hear that the citizens of Medicine Hat are participating in this, idea that you can have a lot of fun. You can enjoy the holidays, you can, enjoy an adult beverage or two and still plan a safe ride home, plan to stay overnight. Have somebody come and pick you and your car up and take you home. Whatever option you want to use. That they're doing it, and they're using those options. That's that's great. Kurtis, thank you so much for coming on the porch and talking to us. Merry Christmas, happy New year. And, I hope you're not too, too busy in the next few few weeks here with tech stuff. Yeah, well, thank you very much. Happy holidays to you as well. And hopefully not too busy because there's a lot of Christmas baking out there.