Thunder Bay Police say 173 impaired drivers have been pulled off city streets this year prior to the Festive RIDE program kickoff on Nov 29th
Within one weekend, six individuals have had their licenses suspended and vehicles impounded after getting caught impaired behind the wheel.
This comes mere days after Thunder Bay Police, along with OPP and APS launched their Festive RIDE program.
The arrests come from both the RIDE program stops and general traffic enforcement.
One of the more serious incidents occurred just before 2:10 a.m. on Sunday, when an officer conducting impaired driving enforcement witnessed an SUV at the traffic light on Central Avenue and Carrick Street. The SUV turned onto Carrick and accelerated a high rate of speed. The officer was able to confirm the motorist was travelling 91 km/ h on a roadway featuring a posted maximum speed limit of 50 km/h. The motorists was then spotted travelling westbound on the Harbour Expressway and reaching a speed of 134 km/h on a roadway featuring a posted maximum speed limit of 70 km/h.
The 23-year-old driver was pulled over and observed with several signs of impairment, and faces impaired driving, stunt driving and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle charges.
Another incident occurred shortly after 1 a.m. on Saturday and involved officers observing a damaged pickup truck with a single headlight. When the vehicle was pulled over the driver informed officers he was aware of the issued and admitted to colliding with a snowbank earlier in the evening.
The officers then noticed several signs that the male was impaired by drug. He was transported to the TBPS headquarters for further evaluation by a Drug Recognition Expert and now faces charges related to impaired operation of a motor vehicle.
Police are asking those planning to imbibe this holiday season to not drive and use options like public transit, cabs, ride shares or have a designated driver.
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