Plan ahead for New Year’s Eve – and beyond

December 31, 2013 · 0 Comments

The Ontario Provincial Police is hoping that if you intend to consume alcoholic beverages this New Year’s eve that you plan for a safe ride home.

Impaired driving remains the leading cause of criminal death in Canada.

Any amount of alcohol can impair one’s ability to drive. Drivers who register a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) in the “warn range” of .05 to .08 could face an immediate driver’s licence suspension. If you are found to be over the legal limit you will face a 90 day driver’s licence suspension, a court appearance and your vehicle is impounded for 7 days. All of these penalties are inconvenient and costly.

Grey County OPP officers will continue with the Festive Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) campaign until January 2, 2014. The Festive RIDE campaign began on November 23, 2013 and up until December 28, 2013, 8 people have been arrested and charged with Impaired Driving, Being Over the Legal Limit or Refusing to Provide a Breath Sample in West Region. Another 5 people have received 3 day, 7 day or 30 day driver’s licence suspensions for registering “warn” on the roadside screening device.

Drivers are encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions. If you drink, do not drive. Arrange for a designated driver, stay overnight or use a taxi or another means of public transit.

If you suspect that someone is driving or is about to drive while impaired, call 9-1-1 and report it. If you see that someone is impaired and intends to drive, do not let them drive.

The OPP will continue to conduct RIDE checkpoints into the new year as part of the OPP’s Provincial Traffic Safety Program (PTSP).

Everyone is encouraged to plan ahead and to always make safety a priority.