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Festive RIDE campaign charges show impaired driving remains a problem

January 9, 2026   ·   0 Comments

Written By JAMES MATTHEWS

Police charged 179 drivers with a combined 288 impaired driving related charges during the Festive RIDE campaign.

The Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) campaign ran from Nov. 20 until Jan. 1. OPP officers conducted 1,916 roadside spot checks that made up about 3,500 hours of enforcement across 13 detachments.

Police in Bracebridge, Caledon, City of Kawartha Lakes, Collingwood, Dufferin County, Haliburton Highlands, Huntsville, Huronia West, Northumberland, Nottawasaga, Orillia, Peterborough County, and Southern Georgian Bay participated.

Coyer Yateman, superintendent of OPP Central Region, said impaired driving is not acceptable.

“Removing over 200 impaired drivers during this campaign is both significant and deeply concerning,” Yateman said. “Every one of those drivers represents a potential tragedy we prevented.”

Police in the central region also issued 28 warning-range driving suspensions during the campaign.

Police from the Dufferin detachment responded to a Christmas Eve report of a suspicious vehicle at about 2:30 a.m. in the area of Anishinaabe Drive in Shelburne. A traffic stop was conducted, and Avinash Shivratan, 27, from Orangeville was charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired and driving without insurance.

As part of the RIDE campaign on Dec. 25 at about 11 p.m. on Broadway in Orangeville, Robert Fisher, 53, of Dundalk was charged with operating a vehicle while impaired by alcohol and driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs.

Then at about 4 p.m. Dec. 28, officers attended a report of a vehicle in a ditch in the County Road 16 area in Mono. Michael Paquete, 31, of Orangeville was charged driving while impaired and driving with an open container of liquor.

At about 7 p.m. on Dec. 31, Dufferin officers were conducting general patrol when they observed a vehicle travelling in the wrong lane and in the wrong direction on Highway 89 in Melancthon. Ramanan Nadesu, 44, of Shelburne was charged with operating a vehicle while impaired.

At about 11:30 a.m. Jan. 3, officers were dispatched to East-West Garafraxa Townline for a report of a vehicle in the ditch. Officers attended the scene and initiated an impaired driving investigation.

David Morris, 58, of Guelph, was charged with impaired driving.

The accused individuals are scheduled to appear in court in Orangeville. Driver’s licences were suspended for 90 days and vehicles were impounded for seven days.

Provincewide, the OPP removed 766 impaired motorists from roads and issued 150 warn-range suspensions.

“Impaired driving remains one of the leading causes of serious collisions,” Yateman said. “Plan ahead. Make responsible choices. Never drive impaired. Together, we can protect lives and ensure safe roads for everyone.”

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