Peel police receive 6 calls for impaired driving in 1 night
4 arrests made as sober driving encouraged by authorities
Peel Regional Police say they received a half-dozen calls for impaired driving Friday night.
Four of the reports led to arrests, police confirmed.
"We can encourage driving sober, we can encourage arriving alive during the festive season," Const. Lori Murphy told CBC News.
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People who are out enjoying the holidays with friends, family and co-workers should make preparations to get home safely, the constable said.
"Peel Regional Police encourages the use of a sober driver."
Even if you're not planning on attending a holiday party, police say residents should be cognizant of the fact that drivers around them may not be making the best decisions.
"Be conscious of the fact that there may be other people on the road not making the right choices," Murphy said.
We have 6 Impaired call across the region right now. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/stopdrinkinganddriving?src=hash">#stopdrinkinganddriving</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/arrivealive?src=hash">#arrivealive</a>
—@PeelPoliceMediaOf those 6 Impaired calls in the region 4 arrests made. Great job to the officers <a href="https://twitter.com/maddcanada">@maddcanada</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/keepingstreetssafe?src=hash">#keepingstreetssafe</a> <a href="https://t.co/uQwE0dEpU4">pic.twitter.com/uQwE0dEpU4</a>
—@PeelPoliceMediaBut impaired driving isn't something we only hear about during the holidays.
"Impaired driving is a criminal offence we investigate year round," Murphy said.
In October, Ontario Provincial Police said impaired driving charges were up in the Greater Toronto Area this past Thanksgiving weekend versus the previous year.
There have also been a significant number of deaths related to impaired driving in southern Ontario over the past several months. The highest profile incident involved a man who was charged with impaired driving after a three-vehicle crash in Vaughan killed four people — among them were three young children.
The mother of those children, Jennifer Neville-Lake, has since signed a petition pushing for tougher impaired driving penalties in Canada. She and her husband are about to embark on her first Christmas without their children.
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Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada say on their website that 43 per cent of road fatalities involved a drunk driver in 2010.
MADD says this figure is "conservative" due to "the underreporting that results from the inability to conduct alcohol tests on surviving impaired drivers and from the need to rely on police reports."
The organization also notes the amount of crash deaths where drugs were involved are also underreported and have not been factored into the statistic.
"MADD Canada estimates there are somewhere between 1,250 and 1,500 impairment-related crash deaths in Canada each year," which averages to be about three to four deaths across the country each day, according to the group's website.
Drivers who may been under the influence have options for getting home. They include calling a taxi, an Uber or someone they know to give them a ride.
Designated drivers are also encouraged by police as a safe way to get home.