Officers from the Huntsville, Bracebridge, Orillia, and Aurora Detachments of the OPP worked alongside the OPP Aviation Services before the Thanksgiving long weekend and laid 56 charges for following too closely on provincial highways.
On October 9 and 10 officers and pilots patrolled Highway 11, focusing on the "Big Four" factors in serious and fatal collisions: aggressive driving, inattentive driving, impaired driving, and lack of occupant restraints. Aggressive driving includes, among other things, speeding, unsafe lane changes, and following too close.
"Due to heavy traffic and unexpected speed reductions, the OPP Aviation Services tracked several near collisions and directed ground units to intercept these vehicles. As a result, 56 follow-too-closely charges were laid under the Highway Traffic Act, along with 11 speeding charges and 23 warnings," says an OPP release.
"On one occasion, a tractor-trailer caught the attention of the OPP by weaving through traffic at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was tracked for four kilometers before being intercepted by a ground unit. As a result, the driver was issued four separate offence notices."
