Pubdate: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2005 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 Author: James Wood, Saskatchewan News Network GOV'T WANTS MORE POWER FOR POLICE The provincial government wants to give police more powers to deal with drivers impaired by drugs. On Tuesday, the NDP government introduced amendments to the Traffic Safety Act which establish an immediate 24-hour licence suspension for drivers who fail a standard field sobriety test (SFST). That's a battery of roadside tests that police use to check for impairment by making drivers walk and turn or stand on one leg and by checking for involuntary eye movement. "This is a way to get at impaired drivers who are obviously under the influence of drugs," said Maynard Sonntag, the Minister responsible for Saskatchewan Government Insurance, in an interview Tuesday. "In the past, impaired drivers as a result of usage of drugs ... they could have been easy to identify as impaired but it would have been difficult for (police) to find grounds for them to be charged." Sonntag said the test, which will supplement the use of breathalysers, has to be incorporated into legislation before it can be used in court. Saskatchewan will be the second jurisdiction, after Manitoba, to make the SFST part of legislation. "Some have questioned it but it's been tested in the courts in Manitoba," said Sonntag. Another amendment to the legislation imposes a 15-day driver's licence suspension after a second .04 blood alcohol count violation within a five-year period. Currently a driver with three .04 violations within five years is subject to a 90-day suspension. The government wants to pass the legislation during this fall's sitting of the legislature and have it come into effect in June of 2006. Sonntag said 53 people were killed and 786 were injured in Saskatchewan last year in alcohol-related collisions. - --- MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPF Florida)