Alberta's Minister of Transportation, Devin Dreeshen, says the government is working with Calgary police to develop Alberta legislation so it more clearly states the ability for police to impound the vehicles of excessive speeders. The Western Standard asked the minister Friday whether this would be something the government would be willing to do, in response to recent statements by Calgary police Chief Katie McLellan. McLellan told Postmedia Wednesday Calgary speeders are out of control.“The one thing we have been talking about is the authority to be able to seize people’s vehicles. We need to be able to do that,” said McLellan..McLellan wants to especially target drivers travelling 40km/h to 50km/h or more over the speed limit.“We would seize their vehicle. It goes to an impound lot.”The cars would then sit in impound for 30 days, after which the offender would have to pick up their vehicle, at the cost of the storage fees and the tow bill. He says Alberta already has the ability to impound excessive speeders' cars; however, the way the legislation is worded makes it difficult to enforce.."The conversations I've had with Edmonton and Calgary police are that definition is very critical, so that is something that we're looking at.""We're looking with the police in Edmonton and Calgary to see if there is maybe a legislative change in that definition to make sure that dangerous drivers are without their vehicles," Dreeshen told the Western Standard. Speaking to CBC, Deputy Chief Cliff O’Brien said current legislation does not allow police to seize vehicles for speeding.He also told Postmedia that in order for police to catch those speeding, they must go faster than them to pull them over — and that adds another level of danger.Usually, what happens when a speeder gets pulled over is that they receive a ticket and a mandatory court appearance..“Then they get back into that weapon and drive away again,” stated O’Brien.Even with demerit points, it still not the same according to McLellan.“They don’t have the vehicle to get to work," he stated about the ability for police to impound speeders' cars. "They don’t have the vehicle to go out and about. That option is now taken away from them and they can’t be out on the road unless they go out and get another vehicle.”Provinces like BC and Saskatchewan do impound cars for excessive speeding.
