Impaired driving is down overall in the city, except for an upswing in the Capital ward.

Overall impaired driving charges went down four percent, but three wards saw a spike in 2013: Capital, Stittsville Kanata-West, and Knoxdale-Merivale, according to data from the Ottawa Police Service.

Capital ward saw 37 charges of impaired vehicle operation in 2014, compared to 25 in 2013. Capital ward includes Old Ottawa South, Carleton University, and the Glebe.

Capital ward residents have not noticed there was an increase in impaired driving in their neighborhood, said ward councilor David Chernushenko.

Chernushenko spoke at a community event held at O’Briens pub at Heron rd., sipping his “one allowed beer” of the evening.

He said that being conscious of alcohol intake is essential and that impaired driving of any kind is a serious hazard to everyone.

“Any distraction, from using your cell phone, to drinking coffee to eating an ice cream, all of these things when done while driving – in a sense, they can turn your car into a weapon,” he said.

The increase in Capital Ward and other wards does not mean that impaired driving is rampant in the area, said Sgt. John Kiss.
“That’s only one extra charge per month,” he said. The increase could be because the officers patrolling that neighborhood target certain kinds of crime more than others.
“There are all kinds of officers who like to concentrate on different aspects of policing. There are some that like to chase crack heads, there are some that like to chase stolen cars,” he said. “One extra arrest per month is not a significant number for one officer to do if he’s out there every night looking for impaired drivers.”
Kiss said there has been a general decline in impaired driving across Canada over the last twenty years, according to Statistics Canada’s latest Juristats report, which lists Police-reported crime statistics.
“But that’s a general shift in society and has been over the last couple of decades because of changes in social norms, education and the media,” he said.
“The numbers are down in general, but what causes that could be a number of factors…it could also be the results of officers being too busy to enforce it and not getting the arrest or the charges.”
November marks the beginning of “the bulk” of the police’s impaired driving enforcement, which will last until January, he said. But contrary to common belief, there aren’t more drunk drivers on the road during Christmas party season.
“We do that because there are a lot of parties going on, but most of all we do that because we really want to avoid a tragedy over the holidays. So we’re out there doing our thing and thankfully the last couple of years we’ve been tragedy-free over the holidays,” he said.