A routine RIDE spot check turned into a gun and drug bust for Toronto police on New Year's Eve.
Police were at Avenue Road and Highway 401 checking alcohol level of motorists when they stopped one car that allegedly smelled like marijuana.
They conducted a voluntary search of the driver and allegedly found a quantity of drugs plus a loaded handgun in the driver's pocket.
"I'm always surprised by some of the poor judgment people exercise," Sgt. Cam Woolley with the Ontario Provincial Police told CTV Toronto while standing at the RIDE checkpoint.
At the same checkpoint, the OPP charged someone with drunk driving just five minutes into doing spot checks of passing motorists.
"Here it is, New Year's Eve, the most widely publicized RIDE night of the year, and we're easily making arrests for drinking and driving and other crimes," Woolley told the Toronto Star.
A recent poll by the Ottawa-based Traffic Injury Research Foundation, found that despite police spot checks on local roads, drunk driving continues to be a problem in Canada.
More than 1,000 Canadians were polled in the study. It concluded that the number of motorists who get behind the wheel after a few drinks has jumped almost three per cent in the last three years.
OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino responded to the study with an open letter to the community.
"With all the knowledge, awareness, education and exposure dedicated to the prevention of this particular crime, Canadians have either tuned out the message or tuned themselves out of the problem in the misguided belief that the consequences of drunk driving will happen only to someone else," the letter said.
In December, about 75,000 motorists were stopped by police. Of those stopped, 217 suspensions were issued and 55 drivers were charged with alcohol-related offences.
