An on-duty Uber driver was among 22 people charged with impaired driving offenses in the week between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, York Regional Police said Tuesday.
Police said they responded to a call from a concerned citizen on Dec. 31 just after midnight reporting a possible impaired driver.
Police said the suspect, identified as an Uber driver, had just pulled into a parking lot in one of the town’s plazas to pick up a passenger when he was arrested.
Const. Laura Nicolle with York Regional Police told CTV Toronto that she can’t think of another instance when an on-duty driver with a ride sharing service like Uber has been arrested and charged with an impaired driving offense.
“Certainly, the citizen did the right thing by calling in,” she said.
A York Regional Police badge is shown in a 2014 file photo. CITYNEWS
The arrest comes on the heels of an aggressive campaign by York Regional Police, launched last month, against driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The police force announced that every Monday it would publically name those charged with criminal driving offenses related to impairment in an effort to make impaired driving socially unacceptable and to stem what York Regional Police Chief Eric Jolliffe described as a “distressing trend.”
Police believe the public is still not getting the message.
“Unfortunately, we really are seeing the impaired drivers we’re arresting at various ages,” Nicolle said. “It seems to be pretty widespread.”
None of the charges have been tested in court.
Source: CTV News