‘Significant’ Spike in Impaired Driving Cases in 2017: Halton Police

Published February 1, 2018 at 5:57 pm

Impaired-driving related offences in 2017 have “significantly” increased over the same time a year ago across Oakville, Burlington, Milton, and Halton Hills, according to Halton police.

Impaired-driving related offences in 2017 have “significantly” increased over the same time a year ago across Oakville, Burlington, Milton, and Halton Hills, according to Halton police.

“This is one of the greatest risks to public safety that we face,” said Deputy Chief Nishan Duraiappah.

Roughly 73 drivers were arrested by officers for impaired offences during the Dec. 2017 RIDE program — up 24 per cent from Dec. 2016.

In addition, 514 roadside tests were conducted by officers — nearly double the number of roadside tests conducted a year prior.

The spike in impaired arrests and suspensions can be attributed to efforts by police to “continuously identify and employ new approaches” to impaired enforcement, “which are supported by an increasingly vigilant community” in terms of reporting suspected impaired drivers to police.

“In 2017, road users within our region reported 165 drivers who were subsequently located by police and arrested for impaired driving,” said Duraiappah.

“It is remarkable to think that more than a third of our impaired investigations can be attributed, at least in part, to our community.”


As a result of using an “enhanced toolkit of impaired enforcement tactics,” here are the numbers:

  • 2,563 roadside tests were conducted by HRPS officers in all of 2017, more than double the number of roadside tests conducted in all of 2016.
  • 527 roadside suspensions were issued by HRPS officers in all of 2017, a 55 per cent increase over total roadside suspensions in all of 2016.
  • 514 roadside tests were conducted by HRPS officers during the December 2017 RIDE program, nearly double the number of roadside tests conducted during the December 2016 RIDE program.
  • 73 motorists were arrested by HRPS officers for impaired offences during the December 2017 RIDE program, a 24 per cent increase over total impaired arrests during the December 2016 RIDE program.
  • 83 roadside suspensions were issued by HRPS officers during the December 2017 RIDE program, a 54 per cent increase over the total number of roadside suspensions issued during the December 2016 RIDE program.

Duraiappah said efforts to reduce impaired driving are a constant work in progress.

“Impaired driving and road safety remain priorities in 2018,” he said.

“Our goal as a service is to ensure our enforcement is tightly aligned with the issues we are facing.”

Impaired driving remains one of the three big road safety issues in Halton Region.

Statistics show impaired drivers are much more likely to cause collisions, highway injuries and vehicular deaths than non-impaired drivers.

Photo courtesy of Halton Regional Police

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