The announcement precedes the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, one of the busiest traffic periods of the year in Canada.
The death toll on roadways patrolled by the Ontario Provincial Police increased 24 per cent in the first nine months of this year, the service reported Wednesday.
In a media release, the OPP said most of the 268 deaths reported through Sept. 30 were the result of motorists “consciously making bad decisions behind the wheel and failing to take seriously their enormous responsibility to drive and share the road safely.”
Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Ottawa Citizen Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
There had been 69 speed-related deaths across the province, the release added, along with “57 inattentive-related fatalities” and 40 each linked to alcohol/drugs and lack of seatbelt use.
Wednesday’s release also included advance notice of Operation Impact, an annual national traffic safety campaign involving the OPP and other police services across Canada that targets drivers who are alcohol or drug impaired, aggressive and inattentive/distracted as well as vehicle occupants who fail to buckle up or properly restrain toddlers and children.
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest traffic weekends of the year in Canada, the OPP said.
-
OPP officer cleared after man, 61, injured in jump from overpass
-
Charges in Savanna Pikuyak killing upgraded to first-degree murder
