TORONTO – More drunk drivers in 2023: it emerges from the data released by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) which found a greater number of cases of drunk driving this year compared to last year and also a greater number greater than road accidents due to the same reason. 

In fact, OPP Sergeant Kerry Schmidt states that there has been a 16% increase in cases of driving under the influence of alcohol (or drugs) and a 10% increase in accidents involving drunk drivers.

OPP officers have filed more than 10,000 charges of driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances so far, 215 of them in the last week. And perhaps the “hottest” days are still missing, that is, those of New Year’s Eve when more people “raise their elbows” and then start driving the car.

Schmidt himself states that this year 397 people have died in road accidents, 49 of which in accidents related to alcohol or drugs: 400 fatal accidents have not been recorded in the province of Ontario in a year since 2004.

The OPP – which is responsible for patrolling Ontario’s highways, among other policing tasks – reminded in the days before the Christmas holidays, with a post on social networks, that “driving under the influence of cannabis is no different than driving while impaired by alcohol or another substance. If you plan on consuming cannabis, arrange for a taxi, assign a designated driver or plan to stay the night”. Moreover, the Police cannot write “do not consume cannabis”, since it is legal in Canada and is regularly sold in shops scattered in every corner of the country.

Photo from Twitter X – @OPP_News