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Ontario police lay over 6,000 speeding charges, nearly 400 distracted driving charges over long weekend


September 4, 2013   by Canadian Underwriter


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The number of Labour Day long weekend traffic deaths is declining, although the Ontario Provincial Police reported three fatalities and nearly 400 distracted driving charges this past holiday weekend.

Ontario police lay over 6,000 speeding charges, nearly 400 distracted driving charges over long weekend

A 16 year-old male died after being struck by a motor vehicle while he was skateboarding.  A 41-year-old woman died in a motor vehicle collision after being ejected from the vehicle and another man (of an unconfirmed age) died when he lost control of his off-road vehicle (ORV).

“Despite the tragic loss of three lives this past weekend, when we look at the last five years, I am encouraged to see a 23% decline in Labour Day weekend fatal road crashes in OPP jurisdiction and a 100% drop in marine fatalities on OPP policed waterways,” noted Chief Superintendent Don Bell, commander of the OPP Highway Safety Division.

“In contrast, Labour Day weekend ORV fatalities are up 25% over the same five-year period and I encourage the ORV community to work with the OPP to reduce these numbers,” Bell added.

Aggressive driving also continues to be a significant problem on long weekends, the OPP noted. Over the Labour Day weekend, police laid 6,078 speeding charges and 64 street racing charges (for driving 50 km per hour or more over the posted speed limit).

Police also laid 535 seat belt charges and a total of 87 Warn Range suspensions were issued to drivers with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) in the 0.05 to 0.08 range.

“It was disappointing to see distracted drivers continue to pose a risk to road users this past weekend, with our officers laying 397 distracted driving charges compared to 107 impaired driving charges,” Deputy Commissioner Larry Beechey, provincial commander of Traffic Safety and Operational Support also noted.


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