Ottawa police have adopted a novel approach for their annual holiday season RIDE campaign by informing drivers in advance about the locations of sobriety checkpoints. Beginning Thursday, the police will use social media to announce the general area where the impaired driving stops will be set up for that evening.
Sgt. Amy Gagnon stated that every night, the police will disclose their location to assist motorists in making informed decisions before driving. For instance, on Thursday evening, the RIDE checkpoint will be established in the Riverside/Vanier vicinity. The primary objective is to prevent individuals from driving under the influence rather than arresting them, thereby ensuring road safety through a different strategy.
In contrast, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will not divulge their checkpoint locations in advance, believing that informing drivers ahead of time may lead them to avoid those areas. Bill Dickson, an OPP spokesperson, emphasized the importance of keeping the locations undisclosed to deter impaired driving effectively.
Both Dickson and Gagnon acknowledged that navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze already alert drivers to police presence nearby, minimizing the impact of disclosing general RIDE checkpoint locations. Steve Sullivan, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada, mentioned that the message about sobriety checks spreads rapidly through social media regardless of police notification.
Despite the differing approaches, highly visible and widely publicized RIDE campaigns remain effective deterrents against impaired driving. The outcomes of Ottawa’s new disclosure strategy will be closely monitored, providing valuable insights for future policing efforts.
This year, Ottawa police have reported 733 impaired driving-related charges, a slight increase from the previous year. Nearly half of these charges stemmed from 911 calls. Out of the 166 impaired driving-related incidents in Ottawa, five resulted in fatalities or severe injuries. Similarly, OPP in eastern Ontario have filed over 1,900 impaired driving charges, including 11 fatal collisions.
Since 2018, Canadian police have had the authority to request breath samples at traffic stops and checkpoints without suspicion of alcohol consumption.