On Friday, December 22, 2023, officers from the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) conducted R.I.D.E. spot checks in the Town of Fort Erie and the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Throughout the night, officers stopped approximately 420 vehicles and inquired if any of the drivers had consumed any alcohol or drugs earlier in the evening. In total, 10 drivers had to provide a sample of their breath for analysis, and another driver was required to perform standardized field sobriety tests. One driver was arrested for Impaired Operation, while two other drivers provided a sample which resulted in a “Fail” and were subsequently arrested for Exceed Breath Alcohol Concentration.
One other driver provided a sample resulting in an “Alert” and subsequently had their licence suspended for three days.
In addition, five Provincial Offence Notices and four Provincial Offence Warnings were issued to drivers for various offences under the Highway Traffic Act and Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act.
The Niagara Regional Police Service remains committed to reducing impaired driving offences through education and the apprehension of offenders through enforcement programs like R.I.D.E. Impaired driving is still the leading criminal offence causing death in Canada.
This initiative has been made possible, in part, as a result of grant funding from the Ministry of the Solicitor General as part of the Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (R.I.D.E.) program.