December 1, 2022 · 0 Comments
By Brian Lockhart
It’s that time of year when family and friends start getting together for holiday parties to celebrate the festive season.
If imbibing alcohol is part of your party plans, you should make arrangements to get home safely. If you drink and drive you are not only putting yourself and those in your car in danger, you put other people on the road in harm’s way.
The Ontario Provincial Police Festive R.I.D.E Campaign is underway for 2022 in an effort to Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (R.I.D.E). The program will last for seven weeks and will be conducted on roadways at various places across the province.
During the 2021-2022 Festive R.I.D.E campaign, OPP officers conducted 8,374 Ride stops province-wide. This resulted in license suspensions for 237 drivers who were in the Warn Range.
At the same time, 1,188 drivers were charged with impaired driving.
The OPP reported that 51 people have died on OPP-patrolled roads this year in collisions that involved a driver who consumed alcohol and/or drugs.
Mandatory alcohol screening allows police officers to demand a breath test from any driver, including those pulled over at a R.I.D.E. stop, even if there is no evidence the driver has consumed alcohol.
Drug Recognition Evaluation and Standardized Field Sobriety Testing can be used to detect drug-impaired drivers. For those found to be operating a vehicle while impaired by drugs, the penalties are the same for those who are alcohol-impaired.
Impaired driving remains one of the leading criminal causes of death in Canada.
If you are going to be drinking, plan for a safe ride home.