Fifteen new sheriffs will be patrolling Alberta highways over the holiday weekend, the government announced Friday.
Insp. Rick Gardner told CBC News that the boost will help improve road and traffic safety year round.
"Any time there is more enforcement on the highways, wherever it is, I think people take heed to that," he said, "I think any time you put more enforcement officers I think more and more people will abide the laws."
The new positions are part of a budget announcement to add 21 new traffic sheriffs to the province's ranks by the end of the year, bringing the total to 105. The remaining six sheriffs will be added in July.
Five of the new officers have been added in the Calgary area, bringing the total number of sheriffs in the region to 21.
Gardner also warned travellers to obey the rules of the road over the long weekend, saying the new and existing sheriffs are going to be hard at work.
"We're ramping it up. Most of our members will be out there for the whole weekend, Friday to Monday," he said.
"We're looking for aggressive driving, which includes anything from speeding to, you know, careless driving, that kind of thing [or] no seatbelts."
