Preliminary data indicates Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers were kept busy on and off roads during the Victoria Day holiday weekend, investigating four deaths and laying thousands of charges to address poor driving behaviours.
During Canada Road Safety Week (May 15-21 inclusive), the OPP laid more than 10,600 speeding charges, 175 of which were street racing charges against motorists driving 50 km/h or more over the posted speed limit. Both were increases over the same period of 2017.
Officers also laid 726 seat belt charges (up nearly 12 per cent), 424 distracted driving charges (a 12 per cent decrease from 2017), 124 impaired by alcohol or drug charges and various other traffic-related charges to motorists who continue to threaten the safety of other road users in OPP jurisdiction.
One death occurred on a road in the OPP’s West Region that remains under investigation while officers also responded to an off-road vehicle (ORV) incident that claimed two lives in North East Region, and a drowning death in Central Region.
Canada Road Safety Week is a national campaign aimed at educating drivers through awareness and enforcement about the Big Four causal factors in motor vehicle collision fatalities – impaired driving, distracted and aggressive driving and lack of seat belt use.
Although this specific campaign is over, the OPP reminds drivers that officers remain vigilant 365 days a year to try to improve decision-making and change these driving behaviours.
