In a “pleasant surprise,” the Ottawa detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is reporting no impaired driving charges had been laid over the Thanksgiving lengthy weekend.
In keeping with media relations officer Michael Fathi, police laid 166 charges from Oct. 11 to 14, however none had been for individuals driving below the affect.
“Police hope this is a result of people making smarter choices and realizing that there are many other options out there for people to get home safely,” Fathi advised CityNews in an electronic mail. “It would be nice to see this trend continue throughout the upcoming holidays.”
Of the fees laid, the bulk (77) had been for dashing charges and eight had been for stunt driving.
Police have been making an attempt to crack down on the variety of speeders within the nation’s capital by utilizing each instrument at their disposal together with utilizing current sources like their colleagues on patrol and safely conducting site visitors stops.
To shut off the weekend although, Ottawa police caught a 16-year-old with a G2 licence stunt driving by means of a development zone within the metropolis’s east finish. It occurred Thanksgiving Monday on Freeway 174. The younger driver was going 145 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.
Different charges laid by OPP embrace 11 distracted driving charges and 9 seatbelt charges. Officers additionally issued 46 warnings.
Officers had been urging individuals to decelerate and drive fastidiously previous to the lengthy weekend, noting they hoped there could be no extra fatalities.
This 12 months 227 lives have already been misplaced on OPP-patrolled roads. Police add that 21 pedestrians and cyclists had been amongst these statistics.
