2022 marked the first full year of the Alberta Sheriffs' increased authority on provincial highways.

Over the course of the year, they removed 1,471 impaired drivers from highways.

In 2021, the province provided Sheriff Highway Patrol with the power to investigate, among other things, impaired driving offences.

A total of 2,224 impaired drivers have been removed from Alberta highways since then.

Prior to July of 2021, sheriffs would have to transfer suspected impaired driver investigations to local RCMP detachments.

Sheriffs can also investigate distracted driving, speeding, and commercial vehicle safety.

Last year, they issued 66,326 tickets for those kinds of offences.

The province highlighted some specific cases investigated by Alberta sheriffs last year:

  • a 39-year-old woman driving 189 km/h in a 110 km/h zone on Highway 16 in Parkland County near Stony Plain. The woman was also impaired by alcohol.

  • a 20-year-old man driving 228 km/h in a 110 km/h zone on Highway 16 in Parkland County west of Edmonton.

  • a 25-year-old man riding his motorcycle at 203 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on Highway 21 outside of Sherwood Park.

  • a 33-year-old man driving 195 km/h in a 110 km/h zone on Highway 63 near Crow Lake. The man – who had a graduated driver’s licence requiring a zero alcohol reading – also failed a roadside breath test. Subsequent investigation also determined he was unlawfully at large and wanted for parole violations.