Impaired driving charges on the rise across Ontario

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) released its 2023 Annual Report which shows that impaired driving charges rose in 2023 to 11,142 instances. That is a nine per cent increase from 2022 and a 17 per cent increase since 2021.

Impaired driving charges made up six per cent of all roadway charges laid last year.

Alcohol and drug-related fatalities decreased in 2023 with 67 fatalities compared to 84 in 2022. However, it is a stark increase from the 42 fatalities in 2021.

Twenty-seven per cent of all alcohol and drug-related fatalities occurred in the OPP West Region which covers from Hamilton and Dufferin counties in the east, down to Windsor/Essex.

In May, the Ontario Government introduced legislation that would result in a permanent loss of license if an incident resulting in death involved an impaired driver.

The same month, the OPP announced it would be conducting Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) “as part of every traffic stop.”