More than 800 drivers in Ontario were charged with impaired driving offenses during the holiday festive RIDE campaign, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
The OPP says officers charged 812 drivers with a total of 1,258 impaired driving offences between Nov. 17, 2022 to Jan. 2, 2023.
“OPP officers were undeterred as they worked through some of the most intense winter storms in recent history, committed as ever to taking impaired drivers and other alcohol/drug-related driving offenders off the road and keeping holiday travelers safe,” the OPP wrote in a news release on Jan. 6.
Officers conducted close to 10,000 RIDE stops throughout the province and checked roughly 240,000 drivers who were suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, according to the OPP.
Officers also used their Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) authority to demand a breath sample from “any lawfully stopped driver,” even if there was no suspicion or evidence of driving intoxicated, the OPP said.
Drivers can face alcohol-impaired driving charges in Ontario if their blood alcohol concentration is 0.08 or greater.
In addition to the charges laid, the OPP issued 208 warn range suspensions for drivers who had a blood alcohol concentration between 0.05 and 0.079. Officers also issued 21 zero tolerance suspensions to young, novice and commercial drivers who are prohibited from having any alcohol in their system by law.
“The OPP thanks all road users and citizens who reported suspected impaired drivers to police and did their part to keep roads safe over the holidays,” the OPP wrote.
RIDE events are conducted throughout the year as part of the OPP’s ongoing efforts to crack down on impaired driving.
