Don’t bother trying to avoid RIDE check
Police know drivers will embrace new technology and apps — but they do, too
Iresearched RIDE program statistics for Ontario, and five of the top eight dropdowns contained the word “locations.” People are trying to find out where checkpoints are in their community.
You know, those seasonal roadside checks that take about three minutes of your time, and root out the impaired drivers. It’s always nice to see some people are taking the time to plan their impaired driving and scouting out routes ahead of time.
However, I can’t very well continue bellyaching about people tweeting out spot check locations when Google Maps and other apps, such as Waze, also give everybody the heads-up to police presence — or at least congestion — in the area. People may be trying to circumvent a spot-check location, or simply trying to navigate around the traffic.
“We welcome the technology, actually,” says Sgt. Brett Moore, with Toronto Police Services. “It’s out there, and it makes more sense to not think we can put it back in the box.”
He notes roadside police checks, especially at this festive time of year, are not only about getting impaired drivers off the road, but also about awareness and education. He points to many police departments now teaming their efforts with mapping apps.
“We’re planting the seed. Police are out there, and we’re moving into times where there really are fewer and fewer reasons to drive if you shouldn’t be,” Moore says, citing the rapid changes to ride sharing and hailing, but also the ubiquitousness of delivery services.
“You can order anything and have it delivered to you, almost instantly,” he says. Why would you drive out to pick up that burger when someone will bring it to you?
We tend to focus on people driving home from parties after imbibing, but he makes a good point about people who think, “Oh, I’m only going a few blocks. It’ll be fine.” Why take the risk?
Which isn’t to say that if you make a U-turn, you won’t get pulled over. Those checkpoints always have a lot of police cars at them, and some are there to chase down those who opt to hightail it.
“We see a variety of excuses,” Moore says. “Some are avoiding the congestion, others are evading the stop.”
They will stop you, and you’ll have lots of time to let the police know which camp you fall into.
I asked Moore about this year’s new hot topic: Cannabis. Will legalization of marijuana impact — or complicate — random traffic stops?
“Look at it this way: They’ve loosened one law, but tightened others. Officers are looking for impairment, and they’re trained to detect it,” he said.
There are spit tests for street drugs. Technology still isn’t great, though.
Police have been ferreting out impairment from more things than just alcohol for years. DREs — drug recognition experts — are in place across the country and can be called in to assess anyone believed to be impaired. You must comply with an officer administering the Standard Field Sobriety Test; it’s a 12-step program that’s been in use for years in Canada and the U.S.
Know that DREs are considered by the Supreme Court to be experts, and their testimony is treated as such.
Moore brought my attention to something he calls a huge part of monitoring impaired drivers: The public. If you suspect a driver is impaired, call 9-1-1. Seven thousand calls were made to the Toronto police radio room between January and November this year alone.
While Moore agrees that police stations aren’t looking to be flooded with your dashcam footage unless it’s necessary for an investigation, in Toronto you can file a report online. Though identity is a challenge from such reports, police can contact the registered owner and relay what was reported. Keep that in mind, kid borrowing mom’s car.
Police can’t track down every call, but the upside is that technology can help keep our roads safer. Consider when we will be able to have a system that can aggregate multiple reports of the same offender; charges can’t be laid based on that alone, but patterns can certainly be addressed and alleviate the burden on police forces.
Shorter version? Don’t drive impaired. There are many options out there, so plan ahead before you imbibe. How sober you are is inversely proportional to how sober you think you are.
Be honest. RIDE programs are often in full swing later in the evening. If I had a glass of wine with dinner four hours prior, I’m not impaired. You might be — everyone is different — but they’re looking for impairment. Most people are terrible liars. Find the lie, find the impaired.
If you purposely dodge a spot-check, you’re putting a target on yourself. They have the manpower to pull you over.
Presume you’re being filmed any time you’re driving. Dash cams are everywhere. Get used to it.
Don’t wreck the holidays by killing yourself, or someone else, because you opted to get behind the wheel while impaired.
It’s a choice.