The troubling trend of impaired motorists in Prince Edward County continues to spike.

After a recent spate of Prince Edward OPP officers apprehending motorists alleged to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Community Safety and Media Relations officer Aaron Miller confirmed that, as of Friday, the local detachment has dealt with nine impaired drivers in the month of July — eight of those instances occurred over an 18-day period from July 9-26.

In terms of year-to-date numbers, the local OPP station has brought impaired driving charges against 53 people and are on pace to set a new high water mark for 2023. Last year, Prince Edward OPP laid 70 drunk driving charges altogether, a number already double the seven-year average.

While more vigilant police work, an increase in public complaints and reports and perhaps luck could explain the uptick, the sheer volume of charges suggests underlying factors in the community.

More and more motorists are getting behind the wheel when they should be calling a cab or staying put.

“I find it very disturbing that in this day and age, with all of the messaging in the media about planning a safe way home, that some motorists continue to drive impaired,” said Prince Edward Commanding Officer and Staff Sergeant John Hatch. “The decision is easy: if you’re going to drink… don’t drive. There are lots of options to get home now in Prince Edward County, all it takes is some preparation before you go out,” said the Staff Sergeant. “You can count on the Prince Edward OPP officers to continue to conduct RIDE programs all over the County in order to keep our highways safe.”

Staff Sergeant Hatch said the current complement of officers have been proactive in trying to apprehend impaired drivers, which accounts for more charges. He also noted the detachment had conducted 182 RIDE programs in 2023, an increase of 72 over the same time last year. The wider net is producing results.

But statistical trends are moving in the wrong direction.

“It’s certainly something we’ve been discussing more and more at the detachment,” PC Miller told the Gazette.

As for the 2022 statistics, 72 per cent were male and just over three quarters held local addresses. 

The constable also noted that 28 per cent of the calls were as a result of a traffic complaint, highlighting the importance and success of reporting potential impaired drivers by the public.

The CO implored local residents to continue to report suspected drunk drivers.

“If you suspect someone is driving impaired, please dial 911 and report the incident including the description of the vehicle and the direction of travel, so that our officers can investigate the traffic complaint.  In 2022, a third of the impaired drivers that were caught were because of calls made by concerned citizens,” he added.