EDITOR;
As a member of a basically law-abiding community for more than 50 years I now have a concern about discrimination against rural areas.
If a driver has a blood-alcohol level between .05 and .08, he or she can be charged and earn a 24-hour license suspension. The driver may call for a ride but may not have someone else pick up the vehicle.
The RCMP then call a tow truck from Medicine Hat to tow the vehicle to a compound and the driver is charged anywhere from $300 to $400-plus to retrieve their property. This could create an unnecessary hardship for rural people, not only monetary but possibly leaving a family with no vehicle to get into town in an emergency, since we have no taxi service. The solution would be to allow the driver to call someone else to take their car home.
According to information from a government pamphlet, the current penalty for blowing a warning is a 24-hour suspension — nothing about confiscating or towing the vehicle.
If the aim is to get drinking drivers off the road, why is the owner not allowed to call to have his vehicle driven by a responsible driver? Since we have no taxi or bus service here, this seizure of the vehicle could quite well leave a family stranded in case of an emergency, to say nothing of a financial hardship for some.
If the reason for the RCMP attitude is safety, why are they accosting pedestrians just because they happen to be leaving a bar? Why would they enter a legitimate business with unjustified accusations and threats?
All of these action are bully tactics by our local RCMP, not a safety issue. The officer will even take the vehicle from in front of the driver’s own door. Safety issue? Fair treatment? I think not. It’s simply vindictive behaviour by the RCMP, and they should be called to answer for this action.
The statistics quoted in the paper can be interpreted in different ways. Is 22 per cent of accidents are caused by some alcohol, not necessarily .08, that tells he 78 per cent of accidents have nothing to do with alcohol at all.
If you were to separate out the drunk driver (.08), the statistics would be a little different. You would find that some alcohol would be right in line with no alcohol.
Accidents can be caused by weather, distraction, health, inexperience or just plain poor drivers, as well as drinking. Obviously, these first are in the majority.
No, I am not in favour of drinking and driving, and I or any of my family have not been stopped. I just hate to see good, local business people be picked on in favour of padding the pockets of Medicine Hat towing companies.
Let the local RCMP do its job without being rude and vindictive. Issue your ticket and let the car go home with a responsible driver, and perhaps the general public may help you when you need it.
As it is now, I would not be inclined to trust them for much. I don’t like bullies.

ELLA NELSON
Burdett