THUNDER BAY – Provincial police officers will not be taking the holidays off from trying to nab drunk drivers.
“If we suspect you’re drinking and driving and we have the grounds to arrest you and charge you your license will be suspend on the spot for 90 days, your vehicle will be impounded for seven days and you’ll be given a court date,” OPP regional traffic staff Sgt. Ken Mantey said on Wednesday.
“It may mean you spend the night in jail on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. If that’s not incentive enough to make a plan and not drink and drive I don’t know what is.”
Through the first month of their Festive R.I.D.E. campaign, OPP officers have nabbed 20 impaired drivers in Northwestern Ontario within their jurisdiction, including three locally as of Monday.
There have been six collisions involving an impaired driver.
While that’s on track to be less than the more than 50 impaired drivers arrested last year, Mantey said he is still disappointed.
“Is it better? Yes, but not good enough. The numbers should be zero,” he said.
Mantey urged people to ensure they had arranged a way home, or place to stay, in advance to heading out for their social occasions.
“If you don’t make those plans before you leave you’ll find yourself in trouble at the end of the night because you’ll be in that position where to get home you may want to drive when you shouldn’t,” he said.
“There are many other options.”
The campaign continues until Jan. 2, though Mantey said officers conduct R.I.D.E. programs throughout the region on a regular basis throughout the entire year.
