OPP charge 45 with impaired driving in first two weeks of RIDE campaign

Two weeks into the Ontario Provincial Police's Festive RIDE program, 45 drivers in eastern Ontario have been charged with impaired driving, according to a news release on Friday.

Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) is a program run by the OPP during the holiday season or on long weekends. It's a sobriety testing initiative that allows officers to perform random roadside checks to see if drivers are under the influence of drugs or alcohol behind the wheel.

This year's Festive RIDE program began on Nov. 21 and police say they've stopped nearly 1,000 vehicles.

Ottawa chair for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Valerie Keyes tells CTV News impaired driving numbers have been concerning this year.

According to Keyes, the Ottawa Police Service has laid 752 impaired driving charges so far this year. 195 collisions led to some of those charges and there were 12 fatalities.

"If you look at the Ottawa Police Service stats, it's horrific. Those numbers, sadly, are not going down," Keyes says.

"Most impaired driving incidents are the result of bad judgment. Somebody has taken that decision to get behind the wheel."

In larger cities, Ubers and taxis are easy to find for safer rides home. But in smaller communities like Brockville, those options aren't always available.

Restaurants like the 1000 Islands Brewery have unique initiatives for large groups with designated drivers. Bartender Cassidy King says they provide that person with a free non-alcoholic beverage, to encourage groups to designate a driver.

"We want to make sure that everyone has a great time drinking," she says. "But we also want to make sure that you get home safely."

"Taxis and cabs are hard to get around here so whenever we have a group come in and there's a designated driver, we always have to support them and thank them by giving them a free beverage."

Organizations like MADD are hoping people make the right choice this holiday season.

"What we want to see is people make that smart decision. If you know you are going to have to drive at the end of an evening, don't drink, don't have anything," Keyes said.