On the day of National Impaired Driving Enforcement, Calgary police conduct a ch

Calgary police launched their first  traffic stop of the holiday Saturday night on Stoney Trail near  the Tsuu T'ina  Nation.
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Working with members of  the Alberta Sheriffs, RCMP and Tsuu  T'ina Nation  Police, members of the Calgary  Police Department administered breathalyzer tests to  drivers, including  a familiar figure:  Santa Claus.
Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld, who has been a police officer for 33 years, said  it was a first for  him.
"This is the first time in all my  traffic stops that I've seen Santa come  through, so I  thought we'd find out if  he was on the  bad list or the  good list  — and he was  definitely on the  good list, folks," Mr. Neufeld  said.
Mr. Neufeld was on hand to encourage traffic enforcement  officers and  speak to the media  in celebration of National Impaired Driving  Day. While traffic disruptions are  common during the  holiday season, Neufeld  acknowledged that the  use of cannabis and other drugs has made  it more difficult to assess potentially  intoxicated drivers.
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"It's not just alcohol we're screening for now, it's drugs of all kinds, including marijuana, which is harder to screen for," he added, "but we've got officers that are recognition experts and we've got the tools here, to figure out who's naughty and who's nice."
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"It's definitely added  complexity," Neufeld  said.
When it comes to the delayed  effects of drugs, Neufeld said  someone who's experimenting with them  has a simple  decision to make.
"We encourage  people not to drive if  they're experimenting with  drugs and  other things," he  said.
A "huge" impact.
Aaron Libby, president of Mothers Against Drunk  Driving (MADD) Calgary, said the impact of such high-visibility  traffic to  kick off the holiday season was  "huge."
"Especially for us  drunk driving victims and  survivors," Libby added. "We do a lot of  support for drink driving and  reinforce the idea  of 'getting home safe  and sober.' "
"It just  reinforces the same common goal:  ending drunk driving," he added.  "Tonight, 39 officers  are on the  ground.
"That's the largest number I've seen in  years."
Libby said  about 1,200 breath samples were administered at two different locations over  a four-hour period Saturday  night.
Both Neufeld and Libby  highlighted alternatives to  drunk driving that  anyone going to a holiday event should consider, including  taxis, Uber or designated drivers.

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