OPP cracking down on drivers

OPP News Release

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The Ontario Provincial Police will be using all available resources for traffic patrol throughout February in an effort to reduce aggressive driving and collisions involving commercial vehicles, Commissioner Julian Fantino said.

Both traffic unit cruisers and unmarked cars will be patrolling the roads of the province, with special emphasis on the 400 series of highways, highway 11 and highway 17, where a significant amount of commercial traffic travels.

“Recently, we have seen an increase in collisions involving commercial vehicles,” Fantino said. “There have been a number of major incidents involving commercial vehicles, including one last week on Highway 401 at Morrisburg that resulted in the death of one driver.

“Commercial drivers who are travelling over the posted speed limits, especially in bad weather, are a danger to themselves and other motorists. As their speed goes up, so too does their stopping distance, which further increases the likelihood of them being involved in a major incident.”

The OPP has written the Ontario Trucking Association, advising that the crackdown is coming and asking for its cooperation in notifying its members there will be little tolerance for violators.

In addition to aggressive driving, going too fast for weather conditions and following too closely, the OPP will be enforcing legislation that mandates all vehicles move over one lane if safe to do so, when passing an emergency vehicle parked on the side of the highway with its emergency lights activated. If it’s a two-lane road, drivers must slow down to a reasonable speed.

Three OPP officers have been involved in incidents recently where they were either hit by a vehicle or their cruiser was hit while they were parked on the side of the road, with their lights activated.

“The frequency of incidents involving commercial vehicles recently, and the resulting deaths, injuries, damage and road closures is a major concern to the police and the

motoring public,” Fantino said. “We know that commercial vehicles haven’t been responsible for all the major incidents we saw in January. But where tractor trailers were involved, they in many cases, contributed to long road closures.”

Results will be tracked on a daily basis and OPP traffic patrol resources deployed to various parts of the province as needed.

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