OPP is set to conduct patrols for this Labour Day long weekend and will be taking a combined approach of education and focused enforcement during the initiative.
Officers will increase public compliance with traffic laws relating to the "Big Four" causal factors in motor vehicle collision fatalities, to save lives.
The "Big Four" consists of:
- Impaired - alcohol/drug related
- Distracted driving - including texting, inattentiveness
- Aggressive driving - including speeding
- Seatbelts - lack of occupant restraint
By mid-August, 227 people died on OPP-patrolled roads this year. This significant number of deaths was attributed to speeding, inattentive driving, impaired driving, and the choice to not wear a seatbelt. Twenty-one pedestrians and six cyclists were among those who lost their lives.
"Deaths caused by distracted driving, impaired driving, aggressive driving, and failing to use seatbelts are 100 per cent preventable", says Detachment Commander Tyler Sturgeon. "Drivers make an active choice to put the public, and themselves, at risk when they engage in these behaviours."