Ahead of the Operation Safe Driver campaign, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is citing careless and aggressive driving as the causes or contributing factors in the majority of the 4,274 collisions that have involved a large commercial motor vehicle this year.
The collisions account for 22 per cent of OPP-investigated fatal roadway collisions and mark a 40 per cent increase in transport truck-involved crashes over this time last year.
Twenty-nine (29) of the collisions were fatal, resulting in 40 people being killed. The at-fault drivers in the incidents involved both passenger vehicle and transport truck drivers.
Road users sustained injuries in 503 of the incidents, with 3,311 of the crashes involving multiple vehicles.
The data is the latest reminder of the significant toll large transport truck-involved collisions have in terms of lives lost, serious injuries and disruptions in traffic and the movement of goods that are characteristic of these types of crashes on Ontario highways and roads.
In support of Operation Safe Driver, the OPP, in collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation, will ramp up enforcement and education around risky driving in and around transport trucks. Among the dangerous behaviours they will target are speeding, improper lane change and following too closely – the top three causes or contributing factors in transport truck crashes this year.
The OPP reminds drivers that collisions, as well as charges associated with the driving behaviours that cause them can easily be avoided by complying with all traffic laws and acknowledging that all drivers and passengers have the right to be safe on our roads.