County OPP detachments serving Wellington North, Minto, and Mapleton will receive a total of $25,251 for this year’s Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) efforts to help keep local roads safe.
Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson made the announcement on Sept. 28. “We need people to know that if they endanger their lives, and the lives of their neighbours, by driving while impaired they will be caught and charged,” said Wilkinson. “The RIDE program is an effective and highly visible way of reminding people to never, ever get behind the wheel impaired.”
Across Ontario, more than 8,000 officers will be funded for a second year – double the number of officers compared to 2007-08.
“The Wellington County OPP are very supportive of RIDE programs,” said Inspector Scott Smith of the Wellington County OPP Detachment.
“Understanding that a full 20% of impaired drivers in Wellington County are found through RIDE checks, we will continue to conduct RIDE programs aggressively at various locations and times of day throughout [the county].”
Last year the OPP conducted close to 784,000 spot checks across the province, resulting in 970 impaired driving charges and 1,900 12-hour licence suspensions.
“Our goal is to stop impaired driving, period,” said Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services. “RIDE is one of the most effective programs in North America.”
In 2008-09 Ontario increased its commitment from $1.2-million to $2.4-million to support RIDE spot checks. That will be maintained for 2009-10.
