In a “pleasant surprise,” the Ottawa detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is reporting no impaired driving charges were laid over the Thanksgiving long weekend.
According to media relations officer Michael Fathi, police laid 166 charges from Oct. 11 to 14, but none were for people driving under the influence.
“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 told CityNews in an email. “It would be nice to see this trend continue throughout the upcoming holidays.”
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Of the charges laid, the majority (77) were for speeding charges and eight were for stunt driving.
Police have been trying to crack down on the number of speeders in the nation’s capital by using every tool at their disposal including using existing resources like their colleagues on patrol and safely conducting traffic stops.
To close off the weekend though, Ottawa police caught a 16-year-old with a G2 licence stunt driving through a construction zone in the city’s east end. It happened Thanksgiving Monday on Highway 174. The young driver was going 145 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.
Other charges laid by OPP include 11 distracted driving charges and nine seatbelt charges. Officers also issued 46 warnings.
Officials were urging people to slow down and drive carefully prior to the long weekend, noting they hoped there would be no more fatalities.
This year 227 lives have already been lost on OPP-patrolled roads. Police add that 21 pedestrians and cyclists were among those statistics.