Thunder Bay Festive RIDE off to an 'alarming' start: police

Thunder Bay police say they're seeing an "alarming" trend during this year's Festive RIDE program.

The annual effort sees police set up random RIDE checks, and conduct regular patrols, during the holiday season to crack down on impaired drivers on city streets.

The program led to four drivers being arrested the night of Sat., Dec. 14, which police traffic Const. Tom Armstrong said was "probably one of the worst nights we've seen."

"It's good removing those drivers from the road, producing results, but it's an incredibly alarming trend."

This year's Festive RIDE was launched on Nov. 30, Armstrong said; police charged on person for driving while impaired by alcohol that night.

Thunder Bay's festive RIDE campaign is off to an alarming start

1 day ago

Duration 5:21

The festive RIDE campaign is not a new program for the Thunder Bay Police Service. But this season, the results have been alarming. Tom Armstrong, a constable with the Thunder Bay Police Service traffic unit, joined CBC's Olivia Levesque in the studio to talk about the frightening trend.

However, Armstrong said, police are seeing more and more drivers impaired by drug. So far this year, it's about a 50-50 split when it comes to drivers being charged by alcohol or drug, he said.

"We certainly see cannabis-impaired drivers," Armstrong said. "There is a significant number of drivers that we'll encounter that have recently used cannabis products."

"It's quite concerning and alarming, the number of drivers that don't see it the same as drinking," he said. "We see a significant number with cannabis, but also numerous other drugs ... like cocaine products and fentanyl, and a wide range of things."

Armstrong said the number of people police encounter who still drive while impaired by alcohol or drug is frustrating.

"People know the ramifications, and people still choose to do it," he said. "It kind of feels like we're not being heard."

"Our numbers have been tracking around the same for a number of years. We're not seeing it going away."

"I'm at a loss as to why."

People charged with impaired driving receive a 90-day licence suspension, and their vehicle is impounded for seven days, Armstrong said.

"You're paying a significant towing impound fee for that," he said. "You're paying a reinstatement fee for your license after 90 days."

Drivers can then face further fines, or suspensions, or other penalties via the court process, Armstrong said.

"Now you got a criminal record that follows you," he said. "A criminal charge can can drastically affect your life for a long, long time."