Make plans before New Year's Eve not to drive impaired: police

'We're arresting people as we speak,' frustrated York Regional Police officer says

YorkRegion.com
January 2, 2019
Lisa Queen

What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?

Getting together with a couple of friends for a nice dinner with wine or beer and an after-meal spiked coffee?

A house party where the booze will be flowing or people will be smoking pot?

A bar where you will ring in the New Year with some alcoholic beverages?

Part of making your plans needs to include deciding beforehand how you are going to get home safely, York Regional Police Duty Insp. Dave Mitchell said.

“That’s a huge concern. Still, it (impaired driving) continues,” he said the morning of Dec. 30.

“Before tomorrow night, we wish everyone a happy New Year but what is your plan? Before you go out and celebrate New Year’s, what is your plan?”

Despite ongoing efforts by police, including the recent decision to release a weekly naming and shaming list of people charged in York Region with impaired driving, and new stiffer penalties in Canada including a mandatory minimum $2,000 fine for a first offence, a mandatory minimum 30-day sentence for a second offence and a minimum 120-day sentence for a third offence, some drivers still aren’t getting the message, Mitchell said.

“We’re just disappointed it continues. It’s 8:20 a.m. on a Sunday morning and as we speak, there are people in for breath tests and people getting arrested in York Region right now. We’re kind of at our wit’s end, what else can we possibly do?” he said.

So far this year, York Regional Police have laid more than 1,600 charges for impaired-related driving offences and the number of drivers choosing to drive while impaired is showing no signs of decreasing, Const. Laura Nicolle said.

Sadly, seven people have lost their lives this year in collisions where alcohol or drug impairment were contributing factors, she said.

Before you head out to celebrate, make plans to take public transit or a cab, appoint a designated driver in your group or stay overnight at your host’s home.

Service will be extended on some York Region Transit (YRT) routes on New Year’s Eve and all rides will be free after 7 p.m.
For more information, visit yrt.ca.