Police officially launch their festive RIDE campaign for holidays

It's the time of year for York Regional Police to remind motorists that they are watching out for people who drink and drive.

Police officially launched their 2006 Festive RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) campaign last Tuesday at a kick-off ceremony in Markham that was attended by Police Chief Armand La Barge, Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield and representatives of Ontario Provincial Police and the York Region chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

This year's Festive RIDE program is dedicated to the memory of Steven Nicholas Bobel, who lost his life after he was struck and killed by a drunk driver in Newmarket Sept. 6, 1992, at the age of 22. Marilyn Bobel was at the ceremony to share her story on how her son's death, as a result of drunk driving, has affected her life.

The Festive RIDE program targets drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs. York Regional Police is a leader in training officers as drug recognition experts (DRE). A York officer is currently seconded to the RCMP as the training facilitator for their DRE program, which trains officers across the province to identify drug-related impairment.

Police reported that in 2005, RIDE resulted in 65 impaired driving arrests and 49 drug arrests. In 2006 to date, there have been 49 impaired driving arrests and 15 impaired by drug arrests. To date this year, 11 people have been killed where alcohol was a contributing factor.