Police don’t usually encourage motorists to talk on cell phones, but they are making an exception to nab drunk drivers in York Region, and the approach seems to be working.
In 2006, York Regional Police received 935 calls from motorists reporting suspected drunk drivers, resulting in 96 arrests. Sgt. Bradley Bulmer said these numbers have skyrocketed, with another 1,514 phone-ins and 200 arrests logged since June 2007.
The “Safe Road … Your Call” campaign, first launched in 2006, asks motorists to call 911 from the road to report suspected drunk drivers.
Bulmer said the program – which includes road signs and posters to promote citizen involvement – is the only official campaign of its kind in the GTA.
“People are often reluctant to call,” he said. “We’re really been getting the message out there to get people to lower their inhibitions.”
Bulmer attributes the rise in calls to a greater feeling of social responsibility to stop drunk driving. He said people are starting to understand that the police want to hear from them.
“Now, people seem to be getting that they need to take part to get these guys off the road,” he said.
Bulmer added that motorists sometimes follow the suspect until the police catch up. “If they can follow, that’s certainly a benefit to us, as long as they do it safety.”
On Tuesday, a motorist spotted reported a car weaving in the eastbound lanes of Major Mackenzie Dr., near the town of Markham, at around 10 a.m. Using this information, authorities later caught up with the suspect at home, and arrested him for drunk driving. They also charged him with possession of marihuana.
While Bulmer acknowledged that the vast majority of calls don’t result in arrests like that, he says the end result still justifies the campaign.
“Obviously there were a lot of drivers who weren’t impaired,” he said. “So what?”
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