TAI DUONG
NEWS REPORTER

Police vehicles lined Humber College Boulevard outside of North campus on Thursday, Nov. 26 to kickoff the holiday Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) campaign across Ontario.

York regional police Sgt. James Slykhuis said spot checks make people more aware of police presence and reduce incidents of drinking and driving.

“We will not tolerate drinking and driving throughout the festive season,” Slykhuis said.

The event at Humber, “gives us an opportunity to show the type of vehicles that will be used for the RIDE program,” said Slykhuis.
Humber president John Davies said this is the third RIDE event the college has hosted.

Anne Leonard from the  Arrive Alive Drive Sober campaign, and Mary Purnell, a woman who lost her son to a drinking and driving accident, spoke at the event which began at 10:30 a.m.

Gary Jeynes, director of public safety, said Purnell’s story was something he would remember for the rest of his life. “One careless mistake can change so many people’s lives so quickly,” Jeynes said.
According to Statistics Canada, in 2007 there were 75,513 impaired driving incidents in Canada.

Shagufa Kaker, HSF president, and John Davies, president of Humber, also spoke during the event in the student centre.

Having the event at Humber helps spread the word to students so they can influence their parents and friends not to drink and drive, Davies said.

During a RIDE stop drivers are asked questions and checked for any type of illicit drug, including marijuana, Slykhuis said.

“We have officers that are specifically trained to detect that,” said Slykhuis. “They’re called drug recognition experts and as a result of a battery of tests they put the person through, they’re able to determine what classification of drug they’ve been using whether their ability to operate is impaired or not.”

Slykhuis said police also use their senses and behaviour cues to determine if someone is using drugs.

Jeynes gave advice for anybody with a friend who may drink and drive.
“The best you could do is take the keys out of their hand and make sure they get in a cab, get home safely and resume your friendship the next day,” said Jeynes.