THUNDER BAY – Police are raising concerns about a rise in both impaired and stunt driving, following a number of dangerous incidents over the August long weekend, including a case where a driver allegedly tried to race a train to a railway crossing and ended up crashing.
The incidents are part of a troubling trend, said police.
“There’s a significant number of impaired drivers on our roadways,” said Acting Sergeant Sal Carchidi of the Thunder Bay Police Service’s traffic unit. “Our numbers to date so far, we're at 131 impaired drivers for the year, which is alarming, as we were under 200 last year."
Carchidi said the spike doesn’t seem to follow any pattern. “There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to it,” he said. “We like to attribute our officers’ detection skills to finding and taking these drivers off the roadway. However, we know there's a significant number of impaired drivers going undetected."
One of the most serious incidents happened around 8 p.m. on Sunday. A 32-year-old man, who was charged with impaired driving just three weeks prior, was arrested again following a dramatic single-vehicle crash at Crawford Avenue and Gore Street. Police say the man was attempting to race a train to the crossing when he lost control of his vehicle.
That same weekend, officers were called to a separate crash on Duke Street, where a vehicle had slammed into a tree. Police said the 25-year-old male driver had already fled the scene when officers arrived. Officers later located him and said they observed signs of impairment. The man also allegedly provided police with a false ID.
“In any case involving impaired driving, there’s a significant risk to public safety,” Carchidi said. “Any driver impaired by alcohol or drugs, their perception, reaction time is affected, their judgment is affected through their speed, following distance, and their vision is affected, so it just causes a significant increase in risk to other road users or any pedestrians in the area."
Thunder Bay Police are also seeing a steep increase in stunt driving cases, incidents involving extreme speeding, aggressive manoeuvres, or other dangerous driving behaviours.
The city typically sees around 26 stunt driving charges in a year. But in 2025, that number has already climbed to 33.
“In addition to an increased number of impaired drivers in the city, our police services also identified a significant increase in stunt drivers,” said Carchidi. “We’ve had drivers travelling as fast as 121 in 50 zones, which again poses a significant risk to any road users or pedestrians in the area."
He said the impact of speed in collisions is well documented and often underestimated. “It’s alarming,” he added. “There is a direct correlation to speed as well as collisions, and when drivers are involved in collisions at those speeds, there’s then a direct correlation to the extent of injuries. Even somebody travelling 15 kilometres over the speed limit significantly increases the risk of injury to themselves or other drivers."
Carchidi encouraged the public to be proactive. General complaints about speeding can be reported through the Thunder Bay Police Service’s front desk or online portal. But if a driver appears to be impaired or dangerously reckless, “we strongly encourage you to call 911."
