A Red Deer driver is accused of driving more than three times the legal limit of blood alcohol during Tuesday’s lunch hour traffic, say Red Deer RCMP.
Red Deer RCMP city traffic services received an anonymous tip at noon of a suspected impaired driver, who was last seen north on Gaetz Avenue from 37th Street.
Police found the sport utility vehicle shortly after and pulled it over. The female driver was arrested without incident. Breath samples given were over three times the legal limit of .08.
A 48-year-old woman is facing charges of impaired driving and driving over the legal limit. She was released from police custody and is set to appear in Red Deer provincial court on July 6.
Police say the woman’s name cannot be released because the charges haven’t been officially sworn in.
RCMP spokeswoman Const. Sabrina Grunow said the fact the woman was pulled over during the middle of the day isn’t unusual to police.
“It would surprise you how many impaired drivers there are at any time of the day,” Grunow said.
But the most common time is late at night.
“After midnight, impaired driving does go up 25 per cent,” she said.
Grunow said some people don’t realize that if they have one too many drinks in the wee hours of the night, if they wake up and then head to work some hours later, they haven’t always slept it off.
“This is a high level of impairment,” said Grunow, referring to Tuesday’s case.
Thanks to an anonymous tip, the suspect was pulled over by police. RCMP encourage all drivers to call if they suspect an impaired driver.
Warm weather months (June through September) experience the highest number of casualty collisions involving alcohol.
Anyone charged with impaired driving will lose their licence automatically for at least three months. A six-month suspension is given if the alcohol-related offence involves injury or death, plus other charges will be laid.