Festive RIDE numbers up in Caledon this year

January 16, 2015 · 0 Comments

In a media release issued Jan. 7, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) reported their disappointment in impaired charges and “warn-range” suspensions from the previous year.
The 2014-2015 Festive Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) campaign ran from Nov. 24 to Jan. 2, and during that time the OPP laid 593 impaired driving charges and issued 485 suspensions throughout the province.
Last year, Caledon OPP initiated 89 RIDE checks which resulted in 10 impaired driving charges, 12 three-day suspensions and one seven-day suspension. During the recent Festive RIDE campaign, Caledon officers initiated 163 RIDE checks, charged 22 people with impaired driving, driving with more than the legal limit of alcohol in their systems or refusing to provide a breath sample, and they issued 31 three, seven or 30-day suspensions. Officers initiating RIDE further reported locating drivers under the influence or in possession of controlled substances.
“With the development of a dedicated RIDE team and the participation of each officer, we were successful in significantly increasing the amount of RIDE checks, number of impaired drivers and suspensions,” commented Inspector Tim Melanson, detachment commander. “Officers from the Caledon Detachment will continue to conduct RIDE checks throughout the year and to work collaboratively with community stakeholders, such as HomeJames. Road Safety is a shared responsibility through awareness, education and enforcement initiatives.”
Police would again like to thank residents and visitors to the area who helped carry out a successful campaign by not drinking and driving, not letting family and friends drive while impaired by drugs or alcohol and for calling 9-1-1 to report suspected impaired drivers.