Police have released video showing a driver in Ontario dangerously swerving and veering into opposing lanes of traffic during the holidays to raise awareness about impaired driving.
A concerned citizen called police on Dec. 28 to alert them to a motorist driving erratically and “all over the road” in a rural area of Markham, Ont., northeast of Toronto.
A York Regional Police helicopter caught up with the vehicle and filmed it travelling east on Elgin Mills Road between McCowan Road and Ninth Line.
The footage shows the black Dodge sedan repeatedly grazing the shoulder of the road and straddling the centre line. A few times, the car is seen driving on the wrong side of the road.
A 39-year-old man from Stouffville was arrested and taken to a police station where he blew nearly four times over the legal limit. He was charged with over 80 and impaired operation of a motor vehicle.
Police called the incident “disturbing” in a press release on Wednesday. They warned of an increase in impaired driving charges in the region, from 1,240 in 2013 to 1,643 in 2017.
“It’s shocking that anyone feels they have the right to risk the lives of innocent people by drinking alcohol or using drugs and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle,” Chief Eric Jolliffe said in the release.
