Thunder Bay police launch new web page to track impaired driving charges

Thunder Bay police have launched a new web page tracking the number ofimpaired driving charges laid by officers in the city.

The new site comes as police are dealing with a shift in impaired driving trends, with nearly 50 per cent of the impaired driving charges in 2020 being laid between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

"We're seeing that impaired driving is happening at all hours of the day," police Traffic Unit acting Sgt. Mark Cattani said in a statement. "It's also happening in all areas of the city, that's including residential areas."

Traditionally, police said, impaired drivers would tend to be charged late at night, or early in the morning.

On Friday, the police Impaired Driving Checkup web page showed 10 impaired driving charges had been laid this week.

Of those, six came between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., with the remaining four coming during the day.

Nine of those arrested were impaired by alcohol, and one person was impaired by drug.

Three of the incidents also involved motor vehicle collisions, police said.