THUNDER BAY – City police are on pace to have one of their highest numbers of impaired drivers caught at Festive RIDE checkpoints in the past five years heading into the final weekend of 2017.
As of Monday, Thunder Bay Police Service officers had charged 11 drivers for operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol, two for being under the influence of drugs and one person under suspicion of drinking and driving for refusing to provide a blood sample. In addition, 13 other drivers were issued three-day warning range suspensions.
Those numbers are only drivers detected as a result of RIDE programs and do not include other impaired drivers nabbed by uniform patrol through traffic stops or collisions.
Const. Mark Cattani said he is discouraged that at least one impaired driver has been caught every time RIDE checkpoints have been set up during the holiday season.
“It’s still a prevalent part of our society. We’re trying to do our best to let everybody know it’s not going to be tolerated. There are so many ways to avoid doing it,” Cattani said on Thursday.
“We’ve caught more impaired (drivers), more of everything … We’ve caught more of those this year having done fewer RIDE programs than last year. We still have another three dedicated RIDE programs coming up this weekend. The numbers will only be higher come Jan. 1.”
Last year’s Festive RIDE campaign netted 15 impaired drivers with nine warning range suspensions, which was an increase from the 10 drinking and driving charges laid in 2015. The five-year high was in 2014 when 18 drivers were apprehended.
Cattani said drinking and driving seems to be an offence that isn’t restricted to any particular demographic, though one particular disturbing trend has emerged this year.
“What we have noticed this year is that there has been a small but noticeable increase in the number of youth who are driving while impaired,” Cattani said.
“We have increased the number of suspensions issued for young and novice drivers compared to last year and the people we actually have charged with impaired over 80 (milligrams of alcohol) have been young overall as well.”
Cattani said officers will be conducting RIDE stops from Friday through to early Monday morning, with New Year’s Eve annually among the top-three busiest days for police.
Don’t expect the checkpoints to be static and at the same place throughout the night, he added.
“It’s very quick. We may only be at a location for 15 or 20 minutes and then as soon as we think we’re getting diminishing returns we pack up shop and move to our next location and set up again,” Cattani said.
“In a way we’re trying to beat social media and trying to beat people to the punch.”
A first impaired driving conviction results in a $1,000 fine and a minimum one-year driving prohibition. A second conviction carries a minimum 30 days in jail while a third conviction lengthens the time behind bars to at least 120 days.
“Given all the different options that are out there – taxis, designated drivers, ridesharing programs, Operation Red Nose – especially in the month of December, if you think you might be going somewhere where you’re going to consume alcohol it’s just so much safer and easier to take driving off the table and choose another option,” Cattani said.
“That way you know should you have one too many, you’re not going to get behind the wheel and potentially endanger yourself, somebody else or face legal consequences.”
