Airdrie RCMP has charged a Calgary man who was caught driving impaired on Highway 2 while his three young children were with him.
At 9:20 p.m. on Sunday, Airdrie RCMP was notified via 911 about a van driving erratically in the southbound lanes of Highway 2.
The caller was able to provide a details description of the vehicle that resulted in the RCMP being able to intercept the driver near Yankee Valley Boulevard within Airdrie city limits.
The driver was pulled over, arrested and taken to the RCMP detachment where he provided a breath sample that was recorded as being nearly 3.5 times the legal limit.
In addition to the driver being impaired, police also found that the man was driving with three young children, all under the age of 10, on board.
Police say the children’s presence is particularly concerning.
“The concerning nature of this impaired is that three children under the age of 10 were in the vehicle at the time of the offence,” said Constable Matt Gervais. “All three children were returned to a family member following the arrest of the driver.”
Gervais is happy, however, that the public quickly reported the incident to authorities so an arrest could be made.
“This is another great example of citizens calling 911 after noticing unusual driving behaviour to help remove another impaired driver from our roadway.”
A spokesperson for MADD says it is important to report erratic drivers to help police get impaired drivers off the road.
"The police can’t be everywhere and so they have to count on the general public out there to, if they see something, to report it and then they are on top of it or trying to get out there and get them off the road," said Tracy Franklin, Past President of MADD.
The driver, a 46-year-old man from Calgary, has been charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle and driving over the legal limit.
He is expected to appear in Airdrie Provincial Court at a later date.
