More than 100 impaired drivers charged

Durham Regional Police has wrapped up the 2019 Festive R.I.D.E. program, charging 12 motorists with drinking and driving offences during the final week.

During the week of Dec. 23 to Jan. 1, officers conducted R.I.D.E. checks in Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa, Clarington, Scugog and Brock Township.

Throughout the program, officers stopped 19,624 vehicles, a decrease of almost 6,000 from 2018.

In all, 787 people were given roadside breath tests, down from 875 in the previous year.

Within seven weeks of R.I.D.E. checks, 104 people were charged with impaired driving offences, compared to 117 in 2018.

Eighty-six drivers received three, seven or 30-day suspensions for registering in the WARN range.

An additional 379 people were charged with various Highway Traffic Act offences, and there were also four drug offences and seven charges under the Cannabis Act.

Across the board, most Festive R.I.D.E. numbers were down from the previous year.