If you’re celebrating New Year’s Eve, arrange safe ride home, say OPP

(LONDON, ON) - Are you planning to celebrate New Year's Eve?

The OPP is reminding everyone who intends to consume alcoholic beverages or cannabis this New Year's Eve, to plan ahead and arrange for a safe ride home.

Any amount of alcohol or drugs can impair your ability to drive. If you are stopped by the police and register a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) in the "warn range," you could face an immediate driver's licence suspension. 

If you are found to be over the legal limit, you will face a 90-day driver's licence suspension, a court appearance and your vehicle will be impounded for seven days. All these penalties are inconvenient and costly.

"Take responsibility for your actions,” says inspector Mike McConnell, West Region OPP traffic/marine manager. “If you drink or take any intoxicating substances, it's simple, don't drive.

“Everyone who operates a motor vehicle needs to realize that there is no safe level of alcohol or drug consumption when getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Arrange for a designated driver, take a taxi, or stay overnight. It is not worth risking your life or the lives of others."

Expect to see OPP officers continuing to conduct RIDE checkpoints into the new year as part of the OPP's provincial traffic safety program.

Plan ahead and do your part to make this a safe New Year's celebration for everyone. Let's make some great memories so that your night is not marred by a tragedy.