Impaired driving charges on the rise in Sudbury, Ont.

On average, Sudbury police are arresting one driver for impaired driving every day.

In 2021 the northern Ontario police service saw a steep increase in impaired driving offences. That year, there were 329 impaired driving offences, up from 197 the previous year.

Since then, the numbers have stayed near or above 300 offences per year.

Sgt. Blair Ramsay, with the Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) traffic management unit, says this year is no different, at least so far.

"If we look at the overall average throughout the year, even the last couple of years, we're around one impaired a day," he said.

"We're arresting a driver every day."

Ramsay says that during the COVID-19 pandemic more people were caught driving impaired bydrugs.

"We don't see a lot of cannabis. It's a lot of stimulants," he said.

After the pandemic ended, he says the number of people driving while drunk has climbed back up.

Impaired driving charges have increased across Ontario as well.

Between Jan. 1 and June 30 this year, Ontario Provincial Police say they laid 3,339 impaired driving charges, up from 3,247 charges in the same period in 2023.

In Sudbury, Ramsay says more public awareness and better officer training are among the reasons more impaired drivers have been charged.

"I think we saw an increase in the numbers due to the increase of the public calling us, which we encourage," he said.

He says there are now 35 GSPS officers trained to conduct the standard field sobriety test, which is the standard in policing to determine if someone is impaired.

An officer conducts tests, such as asking a driver to follow a pen with their eyes, to determine their level of co-ordination and balance.

In the last five years, Ramsay says the city has had 13 fatal collisions associated with impaired driving.