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Festive RIDE program out anywhere anytime

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SUDBURY -
Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere or RIDE programs have kicked off throughout our region.
 
Joined by community partners, Sudbury police launched this year's campaign devoted to stopping impaired driving on Friday afternonon.

Police said they can be out anywhere, anytime.

“You can see us out on a Sunday morning, you can see us out on a Saturday night.,” said Chief Paul Pedersen of the Greater Sudbury Police Service. “We know the only thing that is going to stop you from being impaired is time. And if you are drinking till three o clock in the morning and trying to get up and drive home at 6 o’clock in the morning, we will be there to catch you.”

 Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada officials attended the launch with a message for everyone.

“Our police partners are the ones who take the impaired drivers off the road and I think that we need to help them as much as possible. You know over the holiday season if you see an impaired driver or someone you suspect is impaired it’s important to call 911, those calls can save lives,” said Jamie-Lyne Hancock, the president of MADD Canada.

This year 'Safe Ride Home Sudbury' will not operating because of the pandemic but is still working to educate people.

“Our message is really quite simple and that’s just to plan ahead for a designated driver or call a friend or call a cab. Public transit or stay over just whatever it takes don’t drive impaired,” said Leslie Green, the president of Safe Ride Home Sudbury.

Action Sudbury has been operating since 1984 to stop impaired driving. It’s closing in the spring of 2022 and will hand the messaging role over to 4 area high schools with Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving chapters.

“When they get the message at a young age, they make a commitment for the rest of their life to do something about the drinking and driving issue and the drug issue now,” said Ron Roy, the chair of Action Sudbury.

Greater Sudbury Police said so far this year officers have arrested and charged 305 impaired drivers, 145 of those were impaired by drug.

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