DRPS completed its seventh week of the Festive RIDE program, stopping more than 120 vehicles and charging six drivers with impaired driving offences.
After the final week, the Festive RIDE team has charged a total of 65 motorists for drinking/drug driving offences. Last year, a total of 51 were charged. Another 18 motorists have registered a WARN on a roadside screening device and had their driver’s licence suspended for 3-days. Last year, a total of 21 drivers had their licences suspended for registering a WARN. This week’s decline in some of the numbers is attributed to provincial restrictions and social distancing rules due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the past weeks.
Durham Regional Officers conducted RIDE checks in Ajax, Clarington, Pickering, Scugog, Whitby and Oshawa with the following totals (the numbers in brackets reflect 2020 seventh week totals for comparison):
The 2021 Festive RIDE final totals are as follows (with the 2020 Festive R.I.D.E. final totals in brackets):
- 6,761 (8,464) Vehicles stopped by R.I.D.E.
- 176 (175) People given Roadside Breath Tests
- 18 (21) People received “3-Day Suspensions’ for registering a “WARN”
- 50 (3) Novice Driver received a “3-Day Licence Suspension”
- 65 (51) People were charged with Drinking and Driving Offences
- 14 (45) People were charged with other Criminal Code Offences
- 265 (489) Charged with various Highway Traffic Act Offences
- 1 (4) Drug Offences
Although the Festive RIDE has concluded this season, impaired driving remains one of our main priorities to ensure our roadways are safe for all roadway users.
A complete list of those charged with Impaired/Exceed will be posted on our website later this week at www.drps.ca under Hot Topics.
Note: Under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, anyone charged with a drinking and driving criminal offence will have his or her driver’s licence suspended for 90 days and their vehicle impounded automatically for seven days.