Provincial police set up more checkpoints and laid more charges in Southwestern Ontario during this year’s annual holiday crackdown on impaired driving, newly released statistics show.
Provincial police set up more checkpoints and laid more charges in Southwestern Ontario during this year’s annual holiday crackdown on impaired driving, newly released statistics show.
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More than 13,000 vehicles passed through police checkpoints in the OPP’s west region – an area that encompasses Southwestern Ontario – during the Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) campaign that ran from Nov. 15 to Jan. 1, Ontario Provincial Police officials said Wednesday.
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In total, 353 people were charged with impaired driving, up from 275 during last year’s campaign, and another 55 were issued warning suspensions, compared to 35 the previous year, OPP said.
“Impaired driving is one of the leading causes of death, injury and property damage on Ontario roadways and it’s entirely preventable,” OPP Insp. Mike McConnell, the head of the traffic and marine management in the west region, said in a statement.
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“If you plan to drink or take drugs, use a designated driver, a taxi or a rideshare service to get home safely.”
Police set up 2,446 checkpoints during the 47-day campaign, up from 1,804 during the previous season, OPP said.
And drivers in the London region should expect to see OPP checkpoints throughout the year, McConnell warned.
“West region OPP will continue efforts to get impaired drivers off the road beyond the holiday season and throughout the year,” he said.
Impaired driving charges by county (checkpoints)
- Brant: 17 (117)
- Haldimand: 14 (111)
- Essex: 59 (247)
- Huron: 26 (332)
- South Bruce: 15 (175)
- Gray Bruce: 28 (167)
- Lambton: 44 (246)
- Perth: 11 (184)
- Norfolk: 16 (112)
- Elgin: 28 (185)
- Middlesex: 41 (228)
- Oxford: 26 (246)
- Wellington: 28 (96)
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