RIDE checks in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls see 2 impaired charges, 5 warning suspensions

Two separate Niagara Police RIDE spot checks set up in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines on Feb. 11 saw a pair of Niagara-on-the-Lake drivers charged with impaired driving.

The first offender was caught in the St. Catharines spot check where at 9:30 pm, a driver admitted to police that he had just left a local restaurant where there was drinking with dinner.

The 53-year-old resident of Niagara-on-the-Lake resident was taken to the side of the road where he blew above the legal limit and was charged with impaired driving.

The second offender, a 64-year-old resident of Niagara-on-the-Lake resident spotted the RIDE check in Niagara Falls and quickly pulled into a parking lot just meters away. Officers approached him in the parking lot, saw what they believed were signs of impairment and had him blow the breathalyzer. He also blew over the legal limit.

Niagara Police added that of the 20 drivers who were flagged for breathalyzers, five drivers were in the “Alert” range, meaning their blood alcohol concentration was between 50 milligrams of alcohol and 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.

All five drivers had their drivers licences suspended for three days.

As well, three tickets were issued for various offences including a novice driver with a blood alcohol concentration above zero, driving a vehicle with no valid permit and driving with a child passenger not properly secured.