MANITOULIN—While officers with the Manitoulin Island detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have certainly done their job in keeping impaired drivers off the road during the annual six-week OPP Festive Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) campaign over the Christmas holidays, the fact that people still drive impaired is a concern.
“The main message we want to get out there is that overall, I’m very happy with the numbers of impaired drivers that our officers have taken off the road,” said Inspector Robert Walsh, detachment commander of the Manitoulin OPP. “But we still have concerns on the number of arrests we are still making on drivers who are impaired. But, hopefully in the long-term consistent enforcement will see a reduction in impaired vehicle operators in our communities.”
During the OPP Festive RIDE campaign, November 21, 2024 to January 1, 2025, 18 drivers were charged with impaired driving (both for alcohol and drug related impaired charges) with 26 impaired driving charges laid and one warn-range suspension handed out within the Manitoulin detachment (which takes in Espanola and area). There was a total of 165 RIDE events held during the 2024-25 Festive RIDE campaign.
In 2023-2024 for the Manitoulin OPP detachment, a total of 171 RIDE events took place, with again 18 drivers charged with impaired driving, and 29 impaired driving charges laid with two warn-range suspensions. The Manitoulin OPP had the third highest number of RIDE events, and the highest number of impaired driving charges laid within the OPP Northeast region.
Members of OPP Northeast Region laid 139 impaired driving charges during the 2024-2025 OPP Festive RIDE campaign. The 2024-2025 Festive Ride campaign saw OPP Northeast Region officers conduct 1,525 RIDE check events across the 12 regional detachments (East Algoma, Almaguin Highlands, Temiskaming, Kirkland Lake, North Bay, West Parry Sound, Sault Ste. Marie, South Porcupine, Sudbury, Superior East (Wawa), James Bay, and Manitoulin. A total of 139 impaired driving charges were laid by OPP officers, with 26 warn-range suspensions. This represents a 14 percent decrease in the number of impaired charges laid compared to the previous season.
Officers laid 162 impaired charges and 26 warn-range suspensions following 1,699 RIDE events during the 2023-2024 OPP Northeast Region Festive RIDE campaign.
The penalty for having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more is an immediate 90-day driver’s licence suspension, $550 fine with the vehicle being impounded for one week.
The same penalty applies to all drivers who fail or refuse to comply with a demand for alcohol or drug testing or who perform poorly during a drug recognition expert evaluation.
If convicted, drivers face a licence suspension of at least one-year, mandatory education or treatment program and must use an ignition interlock device for at least a year.
Commercial, young and novice drivers are not allowed to have any alcohol or drugs in their system.
The length of a warn range suspension increases with each occurrence, as well as the fines. A first occurrence comes with a three-day driving suspension and a $250 fine. If a driver receives a second warn range, the suspension is seven days with a $350 penalty and they must complete an alcohol education program. A driver who receives a third or subsequent occurrences will receive 30-day suspension and they must complete a treatment program and use an ignition interlock for six months.
The Festive RIDE campaign is an annual police enforcement and education initiative aimed at taking impaired drivers off Ontario roads during the holiday season.
The OPP remains committed to taking alcohol/drug-impaired drivers off our roads through enforcement and public education. If you suspect that someone is driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, it is important to call 9-1-1 to report it.
