Senior charged with drug-impaired driving at northern Ont. RIDE check

Public safety experts and advocates disagree about what conclusions can be drawn from data on the presence of alcohol or other drugs in the bodies of people involved in deadly crashes. A man holding pills and a steering wheel inside a vehicle is shown in this stock photo. (File photo/juefraphoto/Getty Images)

Ontario Provincial Police have charged a driver with impairment by drug following a traffic stop in northeastern Ontario.

Shortly after noon on Friday, OPP were conducting a Reduce Impaired Drivers Everywhere (RIDE) checkpoint on Canoe Lake Road within the Mississauga First Nation.

“A grey pickup truck stopped and a standard field sobriety test was conducted,” police said in a news release.

As a result of that test, the driver was taken into custody and the pickup truck was towed and impounded for seven days.

The motorist, a 72-year-old man from Mississauga First Nation, was charged with impaired driving.

“The OPP would like to remind the motoring public to drive sober; this includes drug consumption as well,” said police.

“A charge of impairment by drugs involves all drugs, be it prescription, over-the-counter and those that are illegal.”

The OPP noted its use of specially trained officers in these investigations, saying it has highly trained drug recognition experts who are skilled in the detection and investigation of drug-impaired drivers.

OPP further stressed that impairment by drugs is a crime under the Criminal Code and that drivers are subject to the same penalties as those charged with alcohol-impaired driving.

As such, under provincial law, the man also received a 90-day driver’s licence suspension.

The accused was released and is scheduled to appear in court in Elliot Lake on March 5.

Call to report impaired drivers

The provincial police force also issued a public appeal for assistance in catching impaired drivers.

“Should you observe a suspected impaired driver, please dial 911 or contact the Ontario Provincial Police,” said OPP.