Some signs that the holidays are upon us are brightly decorated houses, trimming the tree with the family, pictures with Santa at the mall, and, the annual Holiday RIDE Program.
Members of the Peterborough County OPP, Peterborough Police along with Peterborough Fire, EMS, Crime Stoppers and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) as well as Nadeau’s Towing and Comstock-Kaye Funeral services gathered outside of the OPP headquarters at Lansdowne and Hwy 115 Thursday afternoon to officially kick off the program in an effort to reduce the number of impaired drivers in our region.
Lesley Kirton of MADD says she was the victim of an impaired driver
While Kirton was lucky to recover, some are not. She points out the story of Jennifer Neville-Lake who lost her three young children and father in a crash involving an impaired driver in 2015 north of Toronto.
Kirton admits that it’s great to spend time with friends and family and have a couple drinks, but, with any decision, it comes with making responsible choices
Both the Peterborough Police and Peterborough County OPP, along with police services right across the province will be taking part until New Years.
While there is a focus put on the RIDE program around the holidays, they do run these initiatives all year round.
Locally, last year’s Festive Ride saw 230 checks in the County and 16 impaired drivers were removed from the road, while Peterborough Police last December checked 1,410 vehicles, administered 74 tests which resulted in 2 impaired charges and 3 warning – three day suspensions.
Dan Gay from the OPP tells us that impaired charges in Peterborough County were at 159 for 2022, 182 for 2023, and we are currently sitting at 155 for this year with still having roughly 6 weeks to go.
OPP Detachment Commander Chris Galeazza says that if you plan on drinking and driving and avoiding a check by taking the back roads, to think again.
Peterborough and Northumberland Crime Stoppers is also an active participant in the Holiday Ride Program. Keith Calderwood says if you see an impaired driver, 911 should be your first call.
(Written by: Graham Elliott)
