An annual holiday campaign to crack down on impaired driving and keep you safe has begun, though it launches with some unfortunate statistics.

The Festive RIDE Campaign has officially kicked off after last year’s record-breaking volume of impaired driving incidents.  This is according to Thunder Bay Police Service’s Traffic Unit, which shows 2021 is nearly on pace to match 2020’s record numbers.

Looking at last year, Thunder Bay Police Service (TBPS) Officers laid 299 charges related to impaired driving, this being 95 more than the amount recorded in 2019. In terms of this year’s numbers, as of Nov. 24, police have laid 220 impaired driving charges in the city, even more concerning as we see a rise in these types of cases during the holiday season.

Unfortunately, the increase in these cases appears to be a province wide issue.

“As far as OPP in general throughout the province, we’ve had 29 people die as a result of impaired driving in OPP patrolled areas, that’s unacceptable,” explains Sgt. Mike Golding with the Ontario Provincial Police. “We’ve investigated 1,900 collisions because of impaired driving within the province of Ontario, that’s also unacceptable.”

The TBPS Traffic Unit officially kicked off their program Friday, featuring the first Festive RIDE spot check of the year. They were joined by members of the OPP and Anishinabek Police Service.

A motorist with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08, impaired by drugs, or a refusal will receive an immediate 90-day licence suspension and a seven-day vehicle impoundment.

Upon conviction, penalties for a first offence is a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000-to-$2,500 based on blood alcohol content. A second offence is a mandatory minimum of 30-days imprisonment, and a third, or more, offence is a mandatory minimum of 120 days imprisonment.

Police are reminding the public that officers have the tools to screen and detect impaired drivers.