Sarnia Police Service conducting a RIDE Program.(Photo by SPS)Sarnia Police Service conducting a RIDE Program.(Photo by SPS)
Sarnia

UPDATE: Over 1K charges laid during Festive RIDE Campaign

OPP have shared the figures from the most recent Festive RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) Campaign.

The annual initiative kicked off on November 17, 2022, and ended on January 2.

During this timeframe, OPP allegedly held 9,289 RIDE programs across the province.

Officers laid 1,104 impaired driving charges and 190 warn range suspensions to Ontario drivers over the last seven weeks.

For context, during last year's campaign, police said there were 8,374 RIDE stops, 1,188 impaired driving charges and 237 warn range suspensions.

The numbers have generally improved, which some might find surprising after police said there was a higher-than-usual number of impaired driving incidents leading up to the 2022-2023 campaign.

On January 5, West Region OPP shared the numbers for their jurisdiction. The police set up 1,904 RIDE checkpoints, 661 more than they did in 2021-2022. There were 278 impaired driving charges laid and 49 warn-range suspensions in the area, slightly less than last year despite a heavier police presence on the roads.

The Middlesex and Oxford County detachments came up with the most impaired driving charges with 43 each, while South Bruce and Huron had the least with four and seven charges respectively.

OPP officers say they will continue their efforts to combat impaired driving across the province.

"RIDE stops will continue year round," according to a tweet from OPP. "We may not be everywhere but we could be anywhere."

 

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Photo by Sarah Joy via Flickr

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