It’s going to be a busy season for the RIDE program.

Police in Ontario are ramping up Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere checks as the holiday season approaches and drivers get a little too joyful behind the wheel of their cars. Officers in search of drivers under the influence of alcohol or cannabis said the infractions came fast and furious after they set up near Peterborough on Tuesday.

“Three drivers were charged with having cannabis readily available within 45 minutes of that RIDE check starting,” Const. Joe Ayotte with the Peterborough County OPP, told Global News.

The drivers were all issued a $215 fine and had their marijuana seized under the Cannabis Control Act. Police say they have charged 40 people with the offence this year for improperly storing the drug in their cars. The rules for transporting cannabis are similar to those for alcohol, police said, meaning any cannabis must be store-sealed and not easily available to anyone in the car. Storing your supply in the trunk is the best way to allay police concerns of impaired driving.

“Our officers have been trained to do the standard field sobriety test,” Ayotte said.

“They (will be) made to go through those paces if cannabis is found in the vehicle. Just put it in the trunk and erase that suspicion and you will be fine.”

Police are encouraging holiday revellers — and anyone else in no condition to drive — to call a taxi, uber or make other plans to get home that don’t involve getting behind the wheel.

Almost 50 per cent of people who responded to a survey by Abbot, a global health care company, said they did not believe enough was being done to address the operation of motor vehicles by people under the influence of cannabis. One-third of the 1,002 Canadians consulted reported personally knowing someone who has driven soon after taking the drug.

Young people represent the largest group of drivers who test positive for drugs or alcohol after a fatal crash, according to OPP, with just under one-third of 16- to 19-year-old fatally injured drivers testing positive for marijuana. The number of drivers killed in crashes under the influence of marijuana now exceeds the number for those who test positive for alcohol.

“We want to remind all the teen drivers out there about the dangers of impaired driving, whether it’s drug or alcohol,” Barry Cookson, acting sergeant for Perth County, told Blackburn News.