Over 6,400 vehicles checked, only 8 related charges laid

News Release
O.P.P.

This year’s annual OPP Festive R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) campaign was in effect from Friday November 26, 2010 through January 2, 2011.
The Rainy River District OPP officers increased the number of R.I.D.E. programs throughout the district for the 2010 campaign.
In fact, the Rainy River District has seen an increase in the number of vehicles checked from the 2009 campaign.
Officers reported that the Rainy River District OPP checked 6,476 vehicles so far in the 2010 campaign. Officers charged four people with Impaired Operation of a Motor Vehicle which resulted in four Administrative Driver’s Licence Suspensions.
There were also been 21 other charges laid against drivers for various provincial and criminal offences.
The OPP reminds motorists who aren’t getting the message of “Don’t drink and drive”, that the OPP will continue their dedication to conducting R.I.D.E. Programs.
Officers have zero tolerance for those who decide to drive while impaired. “The number of people who are choosing to drive while impaired is high and at the end of the day, it is a choice”, says Constable Anne McCoy. “Impaired driving is 100% avoidable.”
The choice to drive while impaired not only affects the driver but everyone out on the roads.
Alcohol is a drug and it affects the brain and body in many different ways. When a person drinks any amount of alcohol, their sensory functions are depressed. Impaired drivers are mentally and physically unable to react appropriately to various driving situations because the alcohol has altered what the sensory functions can process in the body and brain. As a result, driving while impaired is dangerous and can be deadly.