Sudbury Police say 5 young men charged with drunk driving last month
Questions about whether graduated licence system might be confusing
Sudbury Police say the summer months bring sunshine and holiday time, but also often a spike in impaired driving.
"We do see an increase, absolutely," said Staff Sgt Rick Waugh. "I guess just by the nature of warm weather and maybe vacation time, people have more opportunities to consume alcohol."
This year, almost all of the drinking and driving cases in Sudbury since the start of June have involved younger people.
Five of six impaired driving charges last month were against men in their 20s.
That concerns Ron Roy, the chair of Action Sudbury — a group that works to prevent impaired driving.
Roy worries that young people may abide by the zero tolerance for alcohol rule that's in place until drivers are 22 years old, but some may change their attitude once the restriction is lifted.
"That mindset sets in and says, 'I can drink and drive,' forgetting that there is a lot of limits to the amount of alcohol that you can consume," Roy said.
"That is certainly not the message everybody wanted sent out."
Sudbury Police said it's too early to determine if a trend is developing with more young people drinking and driving in the city.
The service said officers will continue with impaired driving enforcement aimed at all age groups through the rest of the summer.