OPP launch Festive R.I.D.E. program, say more innocent people are killed by drunk drivers

Today OPP launch their annual Festive R.I.D.E. Campaign with the goal of preventing more tragedy on our roadways this holiday season.

So far this year, more than 30 people have died in crashes where alcohol or drugs were a factor — and in those crashes, a higher number of innocent people were killed as opposed to the drunk drivers who caused the collision.

“Too many times I’ve had to go to the door and have to break that heartbreaking news that somebody they love has been killed in a crash,” Rektor says. “It’s magnified when they find out it’s by a driver who did the preventable action of driving impaired.”

He says provincial police will be holding random ride checks across the Region until January 2nd, with the greater purpose of creating public awareness that keeping drunk drivers off our highways and streets isn’t just a police problem — it’s a societal problem.

“There’s some people that come into the R.I.D.E. checks that are three- and four-times over the legal limit … You just wonder what’s going through their minds,” says Rektor.

Penalties for drug-impaired driving match those already in place for alcohol-impaired drivers.

While the main priority of the program will be ensuring those behind the wheel are sober, Rektor adds police crackdown on a number of things.

“We always find people that are driving distracted, some not wearing seatbelts, and often times we’ve had vehicle seizures because the vehicles are unsafe,” he says. “The list goes on and on and on.”