OPP in Wellington County busiest for charging impaired drivers over holidays

A busy holiday season for officers in Wellington County, as they were the leading OPP jurisdiction when it comes to taking down impaired drivers.

Provincial police were set-up through Wellington County from November 24 to January 2 for their annual Festive R.I.D.E campaign.

In total, 100 vehicles were stopped through R.I.D.E checks – 27 were charged with impaired driving, 34 were issued suspensions, and 29 lost their licence.

Constable Marylou Schwindt says it’s disturbing to see numbers like these.

“Whether it’s a suspension, or a charge — all of these drivers are operating under the influence of alcohol, and that’s putting everyone at risk. So that part is very disturbing, and we’re not happy with having this high of a number – but we are happy with what our officers have done here, including choosing locations that are trouble spots.”

In addition to the alcohol-related offences, 35 drivers were also issued warnings relating to drug possession – mainly for marijuana.

This has Schwindt issuing a reminder to motorists, saying any kind of impaired driving will not be tolerated in her County.

“We have a dedicated team that gives up their evenings, weekends, their family Christmas, holidays – and they do that so they can be out there, because we know impaired driving is an issue. We want it to be known that if you’re gonna drink and drive – you will be caught in this County.”

Schwindt adds that it’s always surprising to see these kinds of numbers though.

“Right at the beginning of the campaign, we had a very serious collision that left someone in life-threatening condition. When you see things like that, and hear things like that — you would think people would get the message. But unfortunately, they aren’t, and it’s very disturbing.”

The provincial R.I.D.E campaign wrapped up January 3rd, but Wellington County’s will continue until January 6 – so these numbers could increase even further.

It’s quite the contrast between their numbers and those released by Regional Police – as WRPS stopped nearly 2,000 vehicles through their checks, and only charged two drivers in total for alcohol impairment.