Festive R.I.D.E. Results Week Three

- Dec 08, 2025

Media Releases

DRPS completed its third week of the 2025 Festive R.I.D.E program, stopping nearly 2,200 vehicles and charging 15 drivers with impaired driving offences.

Officers conducted R.I.D.E checks across the Region with the following totals (the numbers in brackets reflect 2024 third week totals for comparison):

2188 (4011) Vehicles stopped by R.I.D.E.

110 (174) People given Roadside Breath Tests

5 (13) People received “3 Day Suspensions” for registering a “WARN”

0 (3) Novice Driver received a 3, 7 or 30 Licence Suspension

15 (16) People were charged with Impaired Driving Offences

3 (7) People arrested for non-impaired driving related offences

3 (0) Other Criminal Code Charges

160 (245) Charged with various Highway Traffic Act offences

0 (6) Drug Offences

During the third week of R.I.D.E., DRPS officers worked in snow and sub-zero temperatures alongside our partners from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). It is through continued partnerships with other enforcement agencies that enable us to provide strategic and effective enforcement and education campaigns that are geared towards reducing impaired driving everywhere.

While impaired-driving–related arrests during the first three weeks of the 2025 Festive R.I.D.E. campaign are 8.6 per cent lower than during the same period in 2024, officers are noting an increase in overall impairment rates. So far this year, 0.7% of drivers stopped have been impaired, compared to 0.4% at this time last year.

This trend reinforces the importance of the work being done by our R.I.D.E. teams and the value of proactive, high-visibility enforcement. The R.I.D.E. team would also like to thank members on frontline patrol for their efforts in combating impaired driving. In the first three weeks, frontline patrol has arrested an additional 12 impaired drivers, independent of R.I.D.E. team.

This week, DRPS officers recorded some of the highest blood alcohol readings of this year’s Festive R.I.D.E. campaign, including one driver who provided a breath sample of 464 mg of alcohol in 100 mL of blood – nearly six times the legal limit. At this level, most people are unable to function, and it is considered extremely life-threatening. The driver was charged and transported to hospital for medical care.

The law requires fully licensed drivers to have a blood alcohol concentration below 80 mg per 100 mL, yet the average reading among those arrested since the start of the 2025 Festive R.I.D.E. program is 169 mg per 100 mL—more than double the legal limit.

Officers also charged another individual who has now been arrested for impaired driving during the Festive R.I.D.E. season for the third consecutive year.

Sgt. Greg Carroll, lead of the DRPS R.I.D.E. Team, is reminding residents to remain vigilant this season. “If you see something, say something,” he emphasized. “This applies not only to reporting suspected impaired drivers, but also to paying attention to how much alcohol/drugs your friends and loved ones may be consuming at holiday gatherings when they will be driving home. If someone is trying to leave your gathering and drive impaired, please call 911.”

A list of those charged can be found at www.drps.ca under R.I.D.E. Results.

For anyone suffering with alcohol and/or drug addiction there is support available through programs like:

• Alcoholics Anonymous- AA is designed for individuals who are struggling with alcohol use disorder (AUD) .

• Al-Anon- is an organization that is for family members and friends affected by a loved one's AUD.

• Narcotics Anonymous is for individuals that struggle with addiction of drugs other than alcohol.

Impaired driving is a life-or-death emergency, please call 9-1-1 if you suspect an impaired driver.

Note: Under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act, anyone charged with an impaired driving criminal offence will have their driver’s licence suspended for 90 days and their vehicle impounded automatically for seven days.

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