Festive Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) programs continue to identify impaired drivers across eastern Ontario as the holiday season progresses.

According to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), East Region officers have arrested and charged a total of 67 drivers with impaired operation since the Festive RIDE initiative began on November 20. Of those charges, 18 were laid within the past week. 

OPP officers from across the region, stretching from Quinte West to the Quebec border and northwest through the Ottawa Valley, have conducted more than 800 RIDE checkpoints to date. These roadside checks are aimed at ensuring drivers are not operating vehicles while impaired by alcohol or drugs. 

All drivers charged with impaired operation have received an immediate 90-day driver’s licence suspension and had their vehicles impounded for seven days. Each individual is also scheduled to appear in court to face the charges. 

In addition to criminal charges, police have issued 15 three-day licence suspensions to drivers who registered a “warn” reading on an approved roadside alcohol screening device. 

The Festive RIDE campaign will continue until January 1, 2026. OPP remind motorists that RIDE programs can take place at any time of day, seven days a week, and may be set up on major highways, rural roads, or downtown streets. 

Police are also urging the public to help keep roads safe. 

“While we could be anywhere, we can’t be everywhere,” OPP stated. “If you suspect someone is driving impaired by drugs or alcohol, call 9-1-1. You could be saving lives.”