100 eastern Ontario drivers charged with impaired driving during OPP 'festive RIDE' campaign

Ontario Provincial Police have caught over 100 motorists driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs across eastern Ontario since late last month, the force reported on Monday.

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Police have been increasing enforcement of impaired driving as part of the OPP's "festive RIDE" campaign that began on Nov. 21.

The fifth week of the campaign caught another 20 impaired drivers across the region, bringing the total to 103 motorists charged before the new year.

A total of 29 warning-range suspensions, resulting in licence suspensions and vehicle impoundment, were also issued.

"The OPP encourages everyone to celebrate the arrival of 2025 safely. Make plans in advance to get home, such as having a designated driver, taking a taxi or ride-share or public transit. Impaired driving can instantly change a celebration into a tragedy," said chief superintendent Lisa Wilhelm in a news release.

Officers have conducted over 1,100 festive RIDE checks this season. Police say the checks can occur anytime "day or night."

OPP spokesperson Bill Dickson said in an interview that finding an alternative way home is easier in a bigger city, with taxis, Ubers and city transit readily available, but in more rural areas, where most of the RIDE statistics are coming from, taking extra time to plan a safe way home is imperative.

"That's why we need to encourage everyone to make that plan. Have a designated driver, stay over if you're somewhere where you can, but don't drive impaired," he said.

Ottawa Valley Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) president Valerie Keyes tells CTV News Ottawa the organization works closely with the OPP during RIDE programs, and the numbers this holiday season are staggering.

"We are quite horrified at the numbers going up and not down," she said.

"From MADD’s perspective, what this means is that we've got a lot of work to do in educating the public about the dangers of impaired driving."

According to MADD, the Ottawa Police Service has laid over 750 impaired driving charges so far this year, resulting in over 195 collisions and 12 fatalities, as of earlier this month.

With files from CTV's Jack Richardson