Driver suspended after police discover open bottles of Fireball
Posted Mar 27, 2025 11:45:14 AM.
Last Updated Mar 27, 2025 03:20:32 PM.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Ottawa detachment were contacted by Ottawa police shortly before 10 p.m. on March 26 regarding a possible impaired driver on Highway 417.
The vehicle was located in Ottawa’s west end, near Panmure Road — where provincial police discovered open bottles of Fireball Whisky, the force said on X.
OPP used a roadside screening device to identify the vehicle, and shortly after, the driver was issued a three-day suspension.
While this penalty remains on a driving record for five years, there is no fine associated with a warning range suspension, explained police.
Additionally, the accused driver’s license was seized, the vehicle was towed and returned to the owner’s residence.
The driver can request that the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) reinstate their license within three days of the suspension.
Rise in impaired driving
The latest figures available from the Ontario Provincial Police show impaired driving charges increased nearly eight per cent in 2022 and an additional 7.5 per cent in 2023, with 11,000 charges laid that year.
During the OPP’s Festive RIDE program, which occurred between Nov. 21, 2024 and Jan. 1, 2025, 743 people were charged across the province with impaired driving offences, and 29 licences were suspended.
And those charges are deadly. While alcohol and drug-related fatalities decreased in 2023 with 67 fatalities compared to 84 in 2022, it is a stark increase from the 42 fatalities in 2021.
As of Jan. 1, any impaired driver who causes a fatality will face a lifetime license suspension. The changes, which were announced last May, also increase first-time roadside license suspensions from three to seven days, and second-time suspensions from seven to 14 days.
With files from CityNews’ Rachel Morgan.
