27 charged during 2024 Thunder Bay Festive RIDE program

The Thunder Bay police traffic unit had another busy holiday season.

Police charged 27 people with impaired driving during the 2024 Festive RIDE program, which ran from Nov. 30 to Dec. 31.

"it was a busy month overall," said Const. Tom Armstrong. "We had a significant number of noteworthy incidents.

"We saw a wide variety of offences, a wide variety of kind of concerning trends."

Armstrong said that of the 27 people charged, 16 were impaired by alcohol, eight by drugs and three were charged with refusing to provide breath samples.

Armstrong said police say a significant number of young drivers, and novice drivers, charged during the program.

For example, he said two drivers charged on New Year's Eve were had their G2 licences, another was unlicensed, and yet another was driving while prohibited.

Thunder Bay Police Service shares outcome of this year's Festive R.I.D.E. program

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Tom Armstrong, a constable with the Thunder Bay Police Service's traffic unit, recaps this season's Festive R.I.D.E. program, which saw alarming results.

Police also saw some incidents involving very high speeds.

"One was a couple weeks ago, stunt drivers on Memorial Avenue," Armstrong said. "And New Year's Eve, we had a driver doing 120 (km/h) in the 50 on North Cumberland Street."

Overall, police charged 191 people with impaired driving in 2024, Armstrong said; of those, 91 were impaired by drug, and the remainder were a mix of being impaired by alcohol and refusing to provide breath samples.

"The last number of years have been sitting around that 200 number," he said. "So I think we're kind of maintaining that same trend."

Armstrong said the fact impaired driving numbers remain high in Thunder Bay is "troubling."

"I don't know why people don't get the message," he said. "People need to realize the consequences of this."

"The other thing we saw was the number of sober licensed passengers. If you're in a vehicle with somebody, speak up, take some ownership for the situation.

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"People can't look out for themselves, we need to essentially do it for them, because it seems people aren't aren't willing to hear the message and learn."

The Treaty Three Police Service has also released totals from its holiday impaired driving enforcement efforts.

The services said officers operated 62 RIDE checkpoints between Dec. 1 and Jan. 2, and charged 10 people with impaired driving.