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7mo ago

Ontario Holiday RIDE Blitz Nets 1,268 Impaired Charges as Tougher Penalties Take Effect

Survey data signal waning concern about impaired driving.

impaired driving
Greater Sudbury Police were busy over the holiday stopping vehicles as part of the annual Festive RIDE campaign.
Lethbridge police are encouraged by a 60 per cent drop in impaired drivers at December Check Stops.
Police officers stop drivers during a RIDE program in this file photo.

Overview

  • OPP reported 1,268 impaired-driving charges and 150 warn-range suspensions from 11,130 RIDE checks during the Nov. 20–Jan. 1 campaign.
  • In West Region, officers conducted a five-year-high 3,095 stops, laying 269 charges and issuing 40 warn-range suspensions, with Essex County leading at 54 charges.
  • Ottawa’s final Festive RIDE of 2025 produced charges for 34 drivers after 6,924 interactions at 76 locations, contributing to 94 impaired-related charges over the season and 854 for the year.
  • Ontario’s Jan. 1 rules add mandatory remedial education for first-time administrative occurrences, lengthen roadside suspensions, and allow lifetime licence suspension upon conviction when impaired driving causes death.
  • Early January cases — including a Highway 69 crash near Sudbury and a Sturgeon Falls traffic stop — resulted in over-80 charges, 90-day licence suspensions, and seven-day vehicle impoundments, underscoring continued enforcement.