RIDE funding set

County OPP detachments serving Well­ington North, Minto, and Mapleton will receive a total of $25,251 for this year’s Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) efforts to help keep local roads safe.  

Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson made the announcement on Sept. 28. “We need people to know that if they endanger their lives, and the lives of their neighbours, by driving while im­paired they will be caught and charged,” said Wilkinson. “The RIDE program is an effective and highly visible way of reminding people to never, ever get behind the wheel impaired.”

Across Ontario, more than 8,000 officers will be funded for a second year – double the number of officers compared to 2007-08.

“The Wellington County OPP are very supportive of RIDE programs,” said In­spec­tor Scott Smith of the Well­ington County OPP De­tach­ment.

“Understanding that a full 20% of impaired drivers in Wellington County are found through RIDE checks, we will continue to conduct RIDE programs aggressively at various locations and times of day throughout [the county].”

Last year the OPP conducted close to 784,000 spot checks across the province, resulting in 970 impaired driving charg­es and 1,900 12-hour licence suspensions.

“Our goal is to stop im­paired driving, period,” said Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Com­munity Safety and Correc­tional Services. “RIDE is one of the most effective programs in North America.”

In 2008-09 Ontario increas­ed its commitment from $1.2-million to $2.4-million to support RIDE spot checks. That will be maintained for 2009-10.

 

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