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OPP Targeting Impaired Boaters This Long Weekend

The OPP is reminding everyone that sobriety on the road and water this long weekend is a shared responsibility.

Police are targeting boaters this Civic Holiday, ensuring everyone is obeying the rules of the water and refraining from drinking.

"Alcohol is a factor in approximately 40% of boating fatalities, so almost half of them involve impaired boating...People need to realize it's preventable," says OPP Sergeant Dave Rektor. "On the water the wind, the waves, the sun and the rocking of the boat can act as stressors that increase the level of intoxication per level of alcohol consumed."

Rektor urges anyone who sees someone drinking and boating or drinking and driving to call the police.

Officers will also be patrolling all major and rural highways targeting those who are speeding and driving while distracted.

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