More than 400 drivers have been charged with drunk driving already this holiday season, the OPP say.

The OPP and other GTA police services have been working hard to keep roads safe, stopping countless vehicles in the first month of the holiday RIDE campaign.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said his service has set up more than 4,000 spot checks across Ontario since launching its campaign Nov. 19.

And, prior to this past weekend, nearly 700 drivers were found to have been drinking when given a breath test.

Criminal charges were laid against 404 motorists who blew over the legal limit, and another 283 had their licence suspended for three days after blowing in the warning range, according to the OPP.

Late Saturday, the OPP tweeted that in 24-hour span its officers laid impaired driving-related charges against another 26 motorists, eight of whom were in the GTA.

“This is a time of the year when families and friends get together to celebrate and those celebrations often include alcohol,” Schmidt said. “So we encourage people to be responsible and have a designated driver.”

The “don’t drink and drive” message continues to be lost on a surprising number of drivers.

“So far this year there have been 41 alcohol-related deaths on OPP-patrolled roads, down slightly from the 48 fatalities at this time last year,” Schmidt said. “But that’s still 41 too many.”

Four of those deaths were three young siblings and their grandfather, killed Sept. 27 in Vaughan.

Daniel Neville-Lake, 9, his brother Harry, 5 and sister Milly, 2, along with their grandfather Gary Neville, 65, died when their minivan was T-boned.

Marco Muzzo, 29, of King City, faces a slew of impaired charges in the wake of that tragedy.

While collisions are typically the best indicator when determining whether impaired driving is on the rise, it’s worth noting several GTA police services reported increases in alcohol-related charges in late October.

The most drastic increase was in Halton Region, where charges were up 20% from 2014.

Another disturbing trend this year involved cops.

In the span of five months, four Durham Regional Police officers were charged with impaired driving. Three of the officers were off-duty, one was on-duty.

“Impaired driving is something we see all year long,” Schmidt said. “Too many drivers are still getting behind the wheel after drinking.”

He urged people to make the “right choice” so that no more families have to spend the holidays grieving the loss of a loved one.

“Obviously it’s tragic any time someone is killed by a drunk driver,” Schmidt said. “But fatalities during the holiday season really pull at everyone’s heartstrings.”

The OPP conduct RIDE spot checks all year long but their efforts are ramped up once the holiday season campaign is launched. As of Friday morning:

41 alcohol-related deaths on OPP-patrolled roadways in 2015.

48 alcohol-related fatalities during the same period in 2014.

28,000-plus RIDE spot checks conducted by OPP annually.

4,000-plus RIDE spot checks conducted since Nov. 19.

659 drunk driving-related charges laid provincially.

404 motorists charged criminally after blowing over .08.

283 drivers three-day suspension after blowing over .05.

135 drunk driving-related charges laid in GTA.

109 men charged in GTA.

chris.doucette@sunmedia.ca

- 26 women charged in GTA .