News release: (ALMAGUIN HIGHLAND, ON) – The Almaguin Highlands Ontario Provincial Police have completed both the Fall Seatbelt Campaign and Operation Impact this weekend.
This year the Fall Seatbelt Campaign began on Wednesday September 23, 2015 and ended on Friday October 9, 2015. The campaign resulted in 28 seatbelt charges in the Almaguin Highlands Detachment area. The OPP are reminding motorists that wearing a seat belt while in a motor vehicle is the law.
So far this year 42 people have been killed on OPP-patrolled roads who were not wearing a seat belt in comparison to 34 people last year for the same time period. The most recent OPP statistics are even more alarming; during the week of September 7 – 13, 2015, seven people were killed in motor vehicle collisions in Ontario – six of those people were not wearing a seat belt.
Following the Seatbelt Campaign, OPP commenced Operation Impact from Friday October 9, 2015 to Sunday October 12, 2015. This initiative focussed on the four main causal factors in motor vehicle collision deaths: distracted driving, speeding, impaired driving and failure to wear a seat belt.
Almaguin Highlands OPP dedicated 90 hours to this initiative which resulted in 73 speeding charges, one stunt driving charge, 13 seatbelt charges, two distracted driving charges and nine other Highway Traffic Act offences.
The Almaguin Highlands OPP would like to thank the majority of drivers who drove responsibly this holiday long weekend and would also like to report that there was only one motor vehicle collision during this period.
