Canadian Police Punish Drunk Drivers with Nickelback Songs

A Canadian town has come up with a unique way to punish drunk drivers.

Police in Kensington will not only charge drunk drivers with a crime and give them a hefty fine; they will also force drunk drivers to listen to the Canadian band Nickelback in the police cruiser, CNN reported.

The Kensington Police Service put out a warning for those “dumb enough to feel they can drink and drive.”

“When we catch you, and we will catch you, on top of a hefty fine, a criminal charge and a years driving suspension we will also provide you with a bonus gift of playing the offices copy of Nickelback in the cruiser on the way to jail,” the department said in a Facebook post. The Facebook link takes readers to a “this content isn’t available right now” message.

“So please, let’s not ruin a perfectly good unopened copy of Nickelback,” the department added. “You don’t drink and drive and we won’t make you listen to it.”

Constable Robb Hartlen told CNN that despite the warning of using the band as punishment, the department does not actually hate the band.

“We are just using a different approach to get an age-old message communicated,” he said. “As long as it starts the ‘Don’t drink and drive’ dialogue, we’re happy with that.”

Part of the reason the department chose Nickelback for its post is because the band’s lead singer got caught for drunk driving in 2006.

Hartlen told CBC that the department does not actually have a copy of Nickelback’s album on hand, and the album cover was ripped from Google.

“I would have no problems at all getting hold of a copy of Nickelback and making that the musical play-along on the way in to chat with someone who’s been caught for drinking and driving,” he said.