In an ongoing effort to combat impaired driving, York Regional Police have begun to release the names of driver’s charged — a practice they say they will continue for the foreseeable future.
“In yet another disappointing weekend, 16 drivers were charged with 27 impaired-related driving charges and Chief Eric Jolliffe is taking the next step to try to curb this distressing trend,” read a statement from police on Monday.
Jolliffe said “effective immediately,” police will name all of the drivers charged with impaired-related charges in order “to further make impaired driving socially unacceptable.”
“Innocent lives are put at risk every day by this irresponsible and criminal behaviour,” Jolliffe said.
In one of the incidents over the weekend, police said around 10 p.m., officers were called to Joshua Court in Richmond Hill for a report of a suspicious vehicle blocking a driveway for over an hour.
Police said that upon arrival, the vehicle began to drive away. They stopped the vehicle and officers spoke with the driver who allegedly smelled of alcohol. A half-bottle of vodka was also found in the centre console, police said.
The driver blew four times the legal limit.
In 2018, police have laid over 1,400 charges for impaired-driving offences. Five people have lost their lives in collisions where alcohol or drug impairment was a factor.
Other police forces, including Halton, Durham, South Simcoe and Niagara, already publish names of those charged with impaired driving.
York police are in the midst of their holiday RIDE campaign and are out conducting checks every day.
Over the past two weekends, eight and 13 drivers were charged, respectively.
Jennifer Neville-Lake’s three children were killed in an impaired-driving collision in Vaughan in September 2015 by convicted drunk driver Marco Muzzo.
Neville-Lake took to Twitter after the first 13 were charged and questioned when incidents of impaired driving will end.
“How many more mothers have to cry like I do because their children are killed by impaired drivers?” she tweeted.
“When will it end? What will it take?”
Police said they will post the names of those drivers charged every Monday.
WATCH: Eight impaired-driving charges laid last Friday night in York region
— With files from Erica Vella