The OPP conducted its four-day seatbelt campaign over the Easter long weekend, laying 1,386 charges throughout the province against drivers and passengers who failed to buckle up and keep themselves safe.
OPP officers also focused their efforts on ensuring the safe movement of traffic on one of the busiest weekends of the year on roadways. Sadly, four people lost their lives in two separate motor vehicle collisions. A fifth person died in an all-terrain vehicle incident, marking the first off-road fatality of the year.
Eighty-five (85) people have died on OPP-patrolled roads so far this year, a statistic that has the OPP concerned given the near 60 per cent increase it marks in road deaths when compared to this time last year when there were 54 fatalities.
With warmer weather settling in across the province, the OPP is reminding the public to keep safety at top of mind when heading out on roads, trails and waterways in the coming weeks/months. Collectively, Ontarians have the ability to significantly reduce the number of collisions and resulting fatalities and injuries by never engaging in risky driving behaviours on and off the road.