Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say with the holidays approaching, people still aren't getting the message about impaired driving.
Between noon on Friday and Sunday night, OPP officers stopped seven people for suspected impaired driving. Six were arrested for driving while impaired. The seventh got a three-day licence suspension.
Two each were reported in Lakeshore, Leamington, and Tecumseh, and one in Essex.
The first took place just after noon Friday in Essex. A traffic stop was conducted, and the driver appeared to be under the influence of a drug. The 31-year-old Windsor man was charged with operating while impaired by drug.
Shortly before midnight Friday, officers from the Lakeshore detachment responded to a vehicle in a ditch on Comber Sideroad. A 26-year-old Ridgetown man was taken to the detachment for further testing and charged with impaired driving, and driving with over 80 milligrams of alcohol in blood.
A 28-year-old Tecumseh woman was stopped at around 1:30 a.m. Saturday on County Road 22. The officer noticed a strong smell of alcohol and ordered a breath test, which came up in the warn range. The driver was given a three-day licence suspension and issued a citation.
At 8:05 p.m. Saturday, Lakeshore OPP officers stopped a vehicle during a Festive RIDE program. A 37-year-old Lakeshore man is charged with impaired driving, and driving with high blood alcohol.
A 52-year-old Windsor man was stopped at around 2:40 a.m. Sunday on County Road 22 in Tecumseh. He was charged with impaired driving and driving with high blood alcohol.
At around the same time, OPP officers in Leamington stopped a driver after someone reported an impaired driver on Marabella Avenue. The 48-year-old Leamington man was stopped, and then arrested for impaired driving and driving with a high blood-alcohol level.
Finally, a 20-year-old Leamington man was stopped at 3:50 a.m. Sunday on Ivan Street. He is charged with impaired driving and driving with a high blood-alcohol level.
The six drivers arrested for impaired driving received a mandatory 90-day licence suspension and a seven-day vehicle impoundment. Each has a court date scheduled in Windsor in early January 2024.
