EDMONTON — Alberta police issued 663 tickets during a weekend safety blitz along the dangerous highway that runs between Edmonton and the oilsands city of Fort McMurray.
Seven people were killed on Hwy 63 in a head-on collision April 27, the latest fatalities on a route where dozens of people have died over the past few years.
RCMP and Alberta Sheriffs issued 552 speeding tickets, 95 hazardous violations including dangerous driving, four alcohol-related violations and one 24-hour suspension for substance abuse.
Others were ticketed for driving without insurance or while suspended and other infractions.
Police say that the number of tickets is about twice what would normally be issued and promise more safety blitzes.
On Saturday, hundreds of people rallied in Fort McMurray to demand the province speed up the twinning of Hwy 63.