Police in York Region say its "the same old story" to start a new year: 9 people face charges of drunk driving after the first complete weekend of 2017.
Allegations are one of them is a 56-year old guy from Toronto who was so wasted that cops found him passed out and slumped over the steering wheel, with his car stopped in the middle of an intersection near Steeles Avenue and Dufferin Street.
Constable Andy Pattenden says emergency crews used the sirens on their vehicles to wake the man up, and it took only a brief conversation with him to smell alcohol on his breath.
Pattenden says the man was taken to a nearby police station, where he failed a breathalyzer test and was charged with drunk driving.
7 of the 9 drivers arrested are men, along with 2 women.
One of the arrests came after a collision, while 3 other drivers were taken into custody at weekend RIDE checks.
Most of the arrests -- 5 in total -- came as a result of tipsters calling 911 on suspected impaired drivers.
Pattenden says it fits with a recent trend that York Regional Police have noticed.
"We know police can't be everywhere at all times, but as long as we have other motorists on the road, watching for impaired drivers, and making calls to 911; we are going to get more (drunk drivers) off our roads," he says.