EPS Community Fair cranks up the safety meter

By Mathew White

EDMONTON — Hundreds of safety-cautious Edmontonians made their way to the Belmead Community Hall Saturday for the third annual EPS Community Safety Fair.

More than just promoting safety, the fair is meant to show the public just how many organizations are actually working in collaboration with the Edmonton Police Service.

“We find that most people aren’t aware that the EPS works with a bunch of agencies outside their own, so we want to make people aware of that,” said Const. Matthew Royer.

There were roughly 28 different organizations at the fair Saturday, each promoting a different message of safety.  Groups like ‘Revolution Cycle’ were offering free bicycle repairs while ‘Students for Cellphone Free Driving’ were condemning distracted drivers.  There were also groups like AMA, environment public health service and the Mediation and Restorative Justice Centre.

But perhaps more importantly than exposing the public to the inner workings of the EPS, the fair is also designed to promote community interaction, something the EPS hopes will help “control crime, reduce fear and help bring problems to the attention of the police.”

Royer said that over the past three years he’s definitely noticed stronger ties building within the community.

“We always see a growing relationship with the community,” said Royer.

Finally, there were also eight different units within the EPS represented at the fair Saturday, including the Bomb Unit, the Forensics Identification Section and the Traffic Section.

Traffic Safety

Seatbelts save lives.  Period.

That’s the message Const. John Chow is hoping to get across.  He said wearing a seatbelt is the most important thing anyone can do when it comes to traffic safety.

“Every year hundreds get killed for not wearing seatbelts or not wearing them properly,” said Chow.

To help get his point across Saturday, Chow put his trust in the EPS rollover simulator – which is essentially half a truck, without wheels, mounted on an axle capable of spinning up to 50 km/h.  Equip with two dummies, the truck would first spin with seatbelts, and then without.

“We want to demonstrate how important seatbelts are and we want to give them a visual,” said Chow.

Judging by the screams and shouts of the spectators as one dummy flew nearly 20 feet in the air before smashing to the ground, the point was well received.

Chow also mentioned that besides being so unsafe, not wearing a seatbelt is against the law.

The fine for not wearing a seatbelt in Edmonton is $115, unless the occupant is under the age of 16, in which case the fine goes to the driver.