Police Officers Awarded for Outstanding Traffic Safety Programs

The National Police Award for Traffic Safety was created in 1991 by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP), Transport Canada and the Canada Safety Council. Its purpose is to honor front-line Canadian police officers committed to making our roads safer. In the past, their efforts went unnoticed and the ability to share strategies was limited.

The year 2000 recipients were honored on August 29 at the CACP conference in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Year 2000 Winner
Alberta Officer Examines Rural Seat-belt Use

When Staff Sergeant Steve MacDonald, the provincial traffic supervisor for the RCMP "K" Division in Edmonton, Alberta, recognized that half of the vehicle occupants killed in collisions on RCMP patrolled highways in Alberta were unbelted, he determined to find a solution.

Major urban-based seat-belt surveys showed that 90 per cent of Albertans were buckling up. Staff Sergeant MacDonald recognized, however, that 80 per cent of Alberta's fatal crashes were on the province's rural highways and saw a need for a survey specific to these areas.

He developed partnerships with a broad base of stakeholders and set a goal: to measure the seat-belt usage rate in rural Alberta communities of under 25,000, and to use the results as baseline data for a strategy to reduce deaths and injuries resulting from non-use of seat-belts. The methodology was established, and detailed manuals were developed for monitors at the observation sites.

Analysis of province-wide monitoring by 1,600 volunteers from June 21 to 25, 1999, found the rural seat-belt wearing rate in Alberta to be only 69 per cent. Armed with these results, the RCMP in Alberta are implementing a strategy to raise the seat-belt wearing rates in rural Alberta to 95 per cent by 2010.

Honorable Mentions

Ontario Officer Mobilizes Community to "Reduce the Risk"

In early 1999, the Town of LaSalle, Ontario, experienced its second pedestrian fatality in less than two years. Two promising high school students, each walking at night on the sides of roadways with no sidewalks and no streetlights, were struck by motor vehicles and killed. The grieving community sought ways to prevent such tragedies from happening again.

In response, Constable Duncan Davies of the LaSalle Police Service developed a community-based traffic safety program, Reduce the Risk. Reflective armbands were distributed to 6,500 elementary and secondary school students, and sold to the public at minimal cost. In addition, a broad-based awareness campaign,with facilitator's guide and video, won strong support from the community, local media and schools.

For participating in the program, one supporter was named the 1999 Citizen of the Year in Malden, and a student was recognized as the Young Citizen of the Year.

Peel Officers and Court Staff Target Licence Suspensions

In 1999, Peel Regional Police Traffic Services undertook to reduce the number of suspended drivers who continued to drive. Specifically targeted were drivers whose licences were suspended for impaired driving.

Officers from the Peel Regional Police Breathalyzer unit teamed up with members of the Police Court Bureau staff to identify from criminal court dockets those individuals who could receive a provincial or criminal driving suspension that day. One plainclothes Court Liaison officer and one plainclothes Traffic Services officer monitored the courtrooms.

Offenders who received a driving suspension were followed out of the courtroom. About 14 per cent of persons suspended in court ignored their sentence and drove away from the court building. Traffic Services uniformed officers immediately apprehended and charged them. As a result of television coverage, other police services have started similar programs.

Quebec Officer Leads Fight Against Drunk Driving

The large Beauce-Etchemin region south of Quebec City has a just over 100,000. Data from the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec and the Coroner's Office showed that region had the highest percentage of drunk driver fatalities in the province — 58 per cent, compared to 43 per cent for all of Quebec. In 1997, 35 per cent (11) of all fatal collisions in Beauce-Etchemin were directly caused by drunk driving.

Sergeant Robert Verge of the Sûreté du Québec was nominated for his work as a member of the Consultation Committee which developed an action plan which mobilized many partners. The project benefitted from excellent co-operation with the Sûreté du Québec through his work.

Target groups included: students, people who consume alcohol while driving, owners of licensed premises where alcoholic beverages are served, organizers of events and festivals, and municipal authorities. The Committee set objectives for each target group, with detailed action plans.

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