For Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Chief Robert Johnston, part of his daily commute involves catching speeders red-handed.

"I think what people need to understand [is that] a minor mistake of just being unsafe out there can have a devastating effect," he said.

"It's not necessarily somebody that's speeding 50, 60, 70 kilometres over the speed limit. Maybe someone doing something with the radio... It can be as little as just not being attentive behind the wheel that can cause personal injury or death."

Johnston has lived in Paradise for seven years, and often pulls people over for speeding while heading to and from work in an unmarked car.

He has seen traffic increase in the area over the past four years, and he's concerned about what he's seeing on the roads in terms of aggressive and unsafe driving practices.

"Like our police officers, I'm committed to public safety, and road safety is a part of that," he said.

"So when I see behaviour that is certainly, often outrageous, I stop those vehicles."

Johnston said there are a number of things he takes into account before pulling someone over for their bad driving behaviour.

"One is obviously the infraction that the person is committing," he said.

"But also I've got to take into account the traffic volumes -- is there a safe place to stop a vehicle -- so I'm not putting other drivers at risk."

Johnston said the volume of cars he pulls over fluctuates.

"There are weeks that I may not stop anybody, and there are weeks where I'm stopping someone every day," he said.

He said most people he stops are courteous.

"Most people agree that, 'You're right, I shouldn't have done that,' or 'I'm in a rush to get to work,' or 'I'm late for a meeting,' those kinds of things. And I explain to people that it's just not worth it."

While Johnston said it's the RNC's responsibility to enforce public safety, people also have a part to play.

"I think as a society, as a community, it's incumbent on all of us to talk to our kids, talk to our neighbours, talk to our friends, and say, 'Look, we all need to slow down out here... We [have] to be careful what we do out there because if we make a mistake on the highway, we may impact somebody's life.'"