Deputy Chief Shane St. John with the Weyburn Police Service commends the community for calling in Report Impaired Driving (RID) complaints after a call resulted in a suspension last Monday.
“Police did locate the vehicle, and it was a good call in. The female driver did test positive for marijuana, THC, and they did get a three-day suspension. They weren't enough to be found impaired, but enough to get the suspension.”
St. John explains there’s a variety of things to look out for when determining what to test for during an impaired driving stop.
“A lot of times it's experience. It could be through odor. It could be the way they're acting. With the standard field sobriety tests, most of our members are trained in that. They can observe just from the eyes, alcohol, drugs, but the odor is always a big one too. Then their reactions. This one, they asked for the oral fluid demand, which tests for THC, for marijuana, and it was found positive.”
He notes they are seeing a trend of more drug impairment while driving than alcohol impairment.
The Weyburn Police Service responded to 74 calls for service from October 27th to November 3rd. A total of 18 charges were laid, ten under the Criminal Code of Canada, and eight under the Traffic Safety Act.