Driver with 3 times the legal blood alcohol limit arrested in east end

A member of the public called 911 after seeing a person “stumble” out of their vehicle at a gas station in Ottawa’s rural east end.

According to police in a press release, around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the resident said they watched the driver purchase a case of beer at the station before getting back into their car and driving away.

Officers found the vehicle and stopped it.

Police said the driver was showing signs of having consumed alcohol and was given a roadside screening test. Officials said the person blew over three times the legal limit.

” Please consider alternate travel options this holiday season; it’s not worth your life or someone else’s,” police said in the release.

Festive R.I.D.E. program kicks off

Since 2018, officers have had the authority to request a breathalyzer sample without initial suspicion that a driver had been drinking.

While there was a slight downward trend in impaired driving charges across the province between 2023 and 2024, arrests in Ottawa have increased in 2025.

So far this year, police have charged 733 motorists with impaired driving-related charges in Ottawa. Nearly half of those charges stemmed from 911 calls, police say.

During the Festive R.I.D.E. campaign this year, officials will proactively share their enforcement locations each week, in hopes of encouraging drivers to plan ahead and make smart choices.