Ottawa police install 77 ‘impaired driver caught here’ signs for spring prevention campaign

An "Impaired driver caught here" sign on Elgin Street. (Ottawa Police Service/X)

Ottawa police say they installed 77 “impaired driver caught here” as part of their spring impaired driving prevention campaign.

The Ottawa Police Service installed the signs at each location where impaired drivers were arrested for the Spring into Safety: May Ride campaign, which ran from May 13 to June 10.

“The Ottawa Police Service thanks the community members who called 9-1-1 to report suspected impaired drivers,” police wrote.

“Their vigilance helped officers quickly locate and investigate these drivers, contributing to safer roads and ensuring those who chose to drive impaired were held accountable.”

Between the start of the year and June 10, police laid 391 impaired-driving charges, an increase from the previous year in which police laid 327 charges throughout the same period.

“At the start of the campaign, impaired-driving offences were up 22.5 per cent over last year; by the campaign’s conclusion, that increase had been reduced by approximately 3 percentage points, reflecting a modest improvement,” Ottawa police said.

By the numbers

Ottawa police say they issued 54 charges for impaired driving and testing over 80 mg, 14 refusal charges and 9 suspensions for testing within the warning range.

The wards with the highest number of arrests were Ward 10 Gloucester-Southgate and Ward 12 Rideau-Vanier, which saw 10 and 9 incidents, respectively.

Police say they installed multiple signs at the following locations:

• Roland Michener Drive and Earl Grey Drive — five signs
• Walkley Road — four signs
• Bank Street — four signs
• St. Laurent Boulevard — four signs
• Albion Road — three signs
• Brian Coburn Boulevard and Tenth Line Road — two signs

According to Ottawa police, the arrests originated from the following sources:

• 36 from reports made to 911
• 18 from collision investigations
• 16 from traffic stops
• 7 from RIDE program stops

Police say they placed an average of 2.75 signs per day throughout the campaign. There were two days where no signs were installed.

Driver arrested after hitting police cruiser

Police say a driver was arrested on impaired driving charges after striking a police cruiser early Friday morning.

According to a statement on social media from police, the officers were stopped on Woodroffe Avenue when their vehicle was struck from behind.

“The crash caused significant damage, and airbags deployed in the other vehicle,” police said.

Police say the driver was later arrested for impaired driving offences.

Paramedics transported one person to the hospital for further assessment.

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