Festive RIDE program in Thunder Bay - (File Photo)

Police in Thunder Bay have wrapped up another successful Festive Ride (ride program) campaign.

During the initiative, officers arrested 27 drivers for impaired operation.

They kicked the campaign off on the weekend of November 30, and it ran until New Year’s Eve.

Of the arrests 16 were for drunk driving, eight were driving well impaired by drugs, and three were for refusal to provide a breath sample.

For the year a total of 191 charges were laid.

“I think over the year it was almost a 50/50 split, so concerning trend,” said Constable, Tom Armstrong. “We’re really looking at kind of ramping up those enforcement efforts for drug-impaired drivers as well.”

In addition to more people driving impaired by drugs, there has also been an uptick in young drivers being charged.

“It’s a little bit different than in years past, so typically it’s a wide range of driver ages,” explained Armstrong. “This one we had a significant number of of both young drivers and novice drivers. On New Year’s Eve, two of the drivers arrested were G2 drivers.”

He called it a very troubling trend.