(SOUTH BRUCE, ON) - Drivers will see an increase in Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) checkpoints throughout the South Bruce OPP coverage area.
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Festive RIDE campaign, which runs from now through to Jan. 1, 2025, is an annual police enforcement and education initiative aimed at taking impaired drivers off Ontario roads during the holiday season.
Motorists are reminded that officers regularly conduct Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) with drivers who are lawfully pulled over, and they will be ramping up this investigative measure, including RIDE stops, throughout the campaign.
So, what does this mean? Heading into its seventh year, under the MAS law, an officer with an approved alcohol screening device can demand a breath sample from any driver without having a reasonable suspicion that the driver has alcohol in his/her body.
Under impaired driving laws, the OPP can also demand that a driver submit to a Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) and a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) evaluation. SFST- trained officers and DREs have the expertise to detect impairment by alcohol, drugs, or both, in a driver.
So, make a year-round commitment to driving soberly, and plan ahead to get yourself and others home safely.
Drivers are reminded that no amount of alcohol or drugs in your system is safe when driving. If you suspect that someone is driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs, it is important to call 911 to report it.