The 2023 OPP Festive RIDE campaign is over two-thirds complete and additional checks have led to more impaired driving charges.
Since November 16, West Region officers have conducted 1,673 RIDE check events across 13 detachments, resulting in 249 impaired driving charges and 43 warn-range suspensions. That's nearly 40 more charges and 14 more suspensions than 2022.
Officers have also conducted over 200 more RIDE check events compared to last year.
"That's why this has been a focus for West Region OPP throughout the year, not just during Festive RIDE," said Derek Rogers, Regional Media Relations Coordinator for the West Region OPP. "Our members are going to be out there so those who may drink and get behind the wheel should know that we're going to be in places that you may not expect us to be."
Rogers says as of the end of November, officers had conducted over 9252 RIDE events in 2023, compared to 5451 over the same time period in 2022.
"The advice is always the same, if you intend to have a few drinks over the holiday season and beyond, make some plans to get home safely: both for yourself and those who share the road with you, and for your family members too. The last thing we want to see is anyone getting hurt because somebody made a bad decision," he said.
