Festive RIDE program began last week

News Release
OPP

ORILLIA, ON, Nov. 27 /CNW/ - The Ontario Provincial Police Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) festive season program begins at midnight and runs through January 2, 2008.
Impaired driving remains the leading criminal cause of death in Canada.
OPP officers will be out in full force across the province in an effort to remove the threat of the impaired drivers and reduce the death toll on Ontario roads.
“The OPP conducts RIDE checks throughout the year,” Commissioner Julian Fantino said, “but we increase the number of officers on duty and the number of locations we monitor at this time of year. So far this year, 74 people have died in crashes where alcohol was a factor.
“That’s an increase of 25 per cent over the same period last year,” Fantino added. “Motorists have to understand that it’s not acceptable to drink and drive. The OPP will be out there on highways we patrol every day and we will have a zero tolerance policy toward anyone we stop who has been drinking.”
Last year, during the five-week OPP Festive RIDE Initiative, officers stopped 814,536 vehicles at roadside checkpoints, 339 persons were charged with Criminal Code alcohol-related offences and a total of 802 12-hour license suspensions were issued. Officers also issued 365 90-day Administrative driver’s license suspensions.
“Ontario roads are among the safest in North America,” Chief Superintendent Bill Grodzinski, Commander of the OPP’s Highway Safety Division said, “but we are working hard every day to make them even safer. The RIDE program has proved to be an effective deterrent and important tool to educate the driving public about the dangers of impaired driving.”
Officers will also be on the lookout for aggressive drivers, those speeding and for people not using seatbelts.