Two Drivers Stopped for Impairment on Hwy. 417

Police pulled over two drivers on the main highway in Ottawa and charged them with serious offenses.

According to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), impaired and distracted driving are major contributors to fatalities on provincial roads each year. Statistics Canada data shows that distraction is responsible for 19.9 percent of fatal collisions, alongside speeding and impaired driving.

At approximately 1:30 p. m. on Wednesday, an officer stopped an SUV driver for speeding on Highway 417 near Eagleson Road.

Once at the side of the road, the officer saw open liquor inside the vehicle and suspected that the driver might be under the influence. They used a roadside device, and the individual was taken back to the station for further testing, where police confirmed both alcohol and drugs were present in his system.

As a result, a 50-year-old man faces charges of impaired operation (alcohol and drugs), driving with an open container of liquor, and having a blood concentration above 80 mg.

He received a 90-day suspension from driving and had his vehicle impounded for one week. He’s scheduled to appear in an Ottawa court at a later date.

Later that same afternoon, around 4:00 p. m., OPP stopped a transport truck driver on Highway 417 near Parkdale Avenue.

The driver was reportedly driving while distracted and faces a $615 fine, three demerit points, and a three-day suspension upon conviction.

“Distracted driving remains the number one cause of serious and fatal collisions in Ontario, over impaired driving,” police stated in a release.

Fatal Collisions on OPP-Patrolled Roads

Preliminary year-end data from 2025 shows that while total collisions increased by 4 percent compared to 2024, incidents involving impaired drivers decreased from 218 to 193.

However, collision statistics don’t always reveal everything. Police previously reported that 854 people were charged with impaired driving in 2025 compared to 837 the previous year.

A total of 23 fatal collisions occurred in 2025, up from 18 in 2024. There were also 1,320 non-fatal injuries last year, which is an increase from the prior year.

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