Ottawa police lay six impaired driving charges during entire Festive RIDE Campaign

By Mike Vlasveld

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) says residents were mostly on good behaviour when driving during the holidays.

Its Festive RIDE Campaign stopped about 4,000 vehicles, between November 26, 2020 and January 2, 2021, and just six people were charged with impaired driving. Three people had their driver’s licence suspended for three days after blowing a “warn” on a roadside (Approved Screening Device), and 12 drivers were charged with having cannabis and/or liquor readily available to the driver.  

The OPS is reminding drivers that cannabis, like liquor, must be out of the driver’s reach. If a package is unsealed or open, it must be fastened closed or stowed in way that it is not readily available to anyone in the vehicle. 

During the RIDE campaign, local officers charged an another 48 people with impaired driving, outside of the official RIDE checks. Ten people also had their driver’s licenses suspended for three or seven days over the same period.  

“Impaired driving is 100% preventable,” said Impaired Counter-measures lead Sgt. Troy Froats. “Our hope is that everyone who decides to drive will make the right decision and drive sober.”

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