3 charged after 400 cars stopped for Christmas weekend RIDE check in Niagara

Niagara Regional Police conducted a R.I.D.E spot check in the towns of Fort Erie and Niagara-on-the-Lake, where out of hundreds of vehicles stopped, three people were arrested and charged with impaired driving offences.

On Friday (Dec. 22) police ran an overnight spot check where they reportedly stopped 420 vehicles and inquired if any of the drivers had consumed alcohol or drugs earlier that evening.

Police say  10 drivers were required to provide a sample of their breath for analysis and another driver was required to perform standardized field sobriety tests.

According to police, one person was arrested for impaired driving, and two others were arrested for exceeding the breath alcohol concentration limit after providing a “fail” sample.

Another driver provided a sample resulting in an “alert” and subsequently had their licence suspended for three days.

Additionally, police issued five Provincial Offence Notices and four Provincial Offence Warnings to drivers for various violations under the Highway Traffic Act and Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act.

Niagara Police say they continue to stay committed to reducing impaired driving offences through education and the apprehension of offenders through enforcement programs like R.I.D.E.

Officers say, impaired driving remains the leading criminal offence causing death in Canada. This initiative has been made possible, in part, because of grant funding from the Ministry of the Solicitor General as part of the Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (R.I.D.E) program.