By Linsey McGoey
The Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police and the OPP are giving away early Christmas presents to help fight drunk driving.
During three “mega-ride” days in December, police are giving away Ottawa 67’s tickets to drivers who are pulled over during RIDE programs.
“We started the program last year to combat drinking and driving,” says OPP Const. Eric Booth. “Last year, we gave away 900 tickets. This year, we’re giving away 2,000.”
Regional police joined the program this year to curb an increase in impaired drivers during the Christmas season.
RIDE programs run daily in December. Police give away the free tickets on three of those days.
Drivers who haven’t had any alcohol, or who register below the legal limit of 80 milligrams on a breathalyser on those “mega-ride” days will get the opportunity to watch the Ottawa 67’s play the Kingston Frontenacs at the Ottawa Civic Centre Dec. 29.
OPP Const. Judy Davey says most of the tickets will go to drivers who register far below the legal limit.
“It’s a thank-you-very-much for not drinking and driving,” says Davey. “Not a thank-you-very-much for blowing 75.”
The program benefits the team and the public, says Doug Drain, marketing director for the 67’s.
“It promotes a good cause and gives people who might not have had a chance to see our games the opportunity to come.”
Booth says the OPP has been meeting with the 67’s since the summer.
“It’s a partnership where everyone wins. The 67’s sell tickets, get some advertising, and are also dedicating their time,” he says.
Also involved in the partership are Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Ottawa-Carleton Insurance Brokers Association, who bought blocks of seats and donated them to the police.
Gregg Thomson, a volunteer for MADD, says the program is crucial for keeping the group’s name in the community.
The 67’s tickets reward drivers for the inconvenience of stopping for the police, says Thomson.
“Because of the few people who cause accidents, it’s everyone who has to be inconvenienced. Everyone has to pull over.”
But Andrew Bird, a Centretown resident, says police shouldn’t reward drivers just because they’re not breaking the law.
“It’s nice for them to say, ‘here you go, for your time, for the inconvenience of being pulled over,’” says Bird. “But you shouldn’t be drinking and driving. You shouldn’t be rewarded for not drinking and driving.”
But Booth says the police don’t give something away every RIDE program.
“We’re rewarding people at Christmas for not drinking and driving,” says Booth. “When there’s a fatality at Christmas, it’s harder on the survivors. They lose the meaning of Christmas.”
The OPP runs RIDE programs throughout the year, increasing the frequency at Christmas when there are more parties, more people drinking during the day, and, according to Thomson, more people drinking and driving.
Thomson says rewarding those who don’t drink and drive puts something positive into the RIDE programs, which are effective in fighting drunk driving.
There’s no question more people are cautious about drinking and driving when they know there’s a strong chance they’ll be pulled over, he says.