Police step up impaired driving enforcement during the holidays

It may be the most magical time of the year according to some Christmas carols, but it’s also one of the most dangerous when it comes to drunk drivers.

To combat that this holiday season, police across the province will be out in full force looking for impaired drivers.

“People never think it’s going to happen to them but it happens to somebody everyday,” said Steve Sullivan, CEO of MADD Canada.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), nine people are charged an hour for impaired driving in Canada – roughly 215 a day.

“I think ultimately the reasons people drive impaired today are the same that they were — you know, people who drove impaired 10 or 20 years ago, they don’t think that they’re ever going to get into a crash,” said Sullivan.

Despite there being fewer alcohol related deaths on Ontario roads compared to the 80s and 90s, one in three roadway fatalities still involves impaired driving.

“We’re still seeing far too many people making bad choices. You know, a third. And we see that in many jurisdictions. 25 to 30 per cent of these fatal crashes involve alcohol or drugs,” said Sullivan.

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“The number one cause of deaths on Ontario roads is impaired driving … those are preventable crashes,” said OPP Const. Taylor Konkle.

And that is why police across the province, including the OPP, will be out in full force looking for impaired drivers.

“We’re going to have lots of officers out there in RIDE initiatives. So you’ll see officers lined up with their cruisers, pylons out, stopping vehicles on ramps,” said Const. Konkle. “We’ll have a quick conversation with you, we’ll see if we can detect any odour of alcohol, any signs of impairment such as maybe in your eyes, slurred speech.”

With so many options, MADD Canada says there is absolutely no reason to get behind the wheel if you’ve been drinking or doing drugs.

“There’s no excuse. There’s so many public transportation, Uber, taxis, everything you can think of. Rural communities have fewer options but people still have to make the right decision,” said Sullivan.

“I’m going to be honest with you, it’s a lot cheaper to take the taxi home at the end of the night and leave your vehicle in that parking lot compared to the fines that you are going to be facing with impaired driving — such as the suspensions and criminal fines that you potentially could get,” said Const. Konkle.

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