Operation Crayola Crackdown

(FORT FRANCES, ON) – The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) will be out in force during the 2014 holiday season to prevent unnecessary deaths and injuries by encouraging all motorists to drive responsibly. The Festive R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) campaign will begin on November 24 and run until January 2, 2015.

While the number of irresponsible motorists who continue to drive while impaired by drugs and/or alcohol is small, the carnage and harm they can cause is impossible to calculate. The OPP is calling on everyone to make safe decisions and never drive impaired. Know when “zero” is the limit! There is no safe amount of alcohol consumption when driving.

This year, the Rainy River District OPP Detachment will be partnering with members of the Northwestern Health Unit to roll out the 2nd annual Operation Crayola Crackdown. Together, presentations will be delivered to youth across our District focusing on preventing alcohol and drug related traumas while promoting safety, crime prevention, health and wellbeing. “Our goal is to get through the holiday season without losing a single life to impaired driving. We will use a combination of public education and focused enforcement to drive home the message that impaired driving on Ontario roads is a crime and never acceptable”, says Inspector Steve Shouldice.

With “Operation Crayola Crackdown”, children can use their voice to promote safety in their communities by creating drawings depicting the “Operation Crayola Crackdown” safety messages. The pictures are placed on a Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) bags and then given away at point of sale along with “Canada’s Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines” publications. Drawings/messages remind LCBO patrons to make responsible decisions and promote responsible behavior involving alcohol.

If someone you encounter insists on driving impaired, call 911 so the police service of jurisdiction can take the driver off the road before someone is harmed.

Please visit the Rainy River District Community Policing Website in the next week to view photographs of the drawings at www.rainyriverdistrictcpc.ca