Members of the Sudbury Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police will be concentrating on aggressive drivers, street racers, those not wearing seatbelts and motorists who drive while impaired by drugs or alcohol throughout the Canada Day weekend.
Boaters should also be aware that the OPP marine unit will be patrolling the waterways in the Espanola and Sudbury areas. Two people died on North East Region highways patrolled by the OPP during the Canada Day Weekend last year. There was one boating fatality and fortunately, no ATV fatalities during that time.
“We will have every available cruiser, motorcycle and boat on patrol this weekend, as we have every day, seven days a week,” Detachment Commander Garry Mills said.
As of June 22, 2008, 136 people have lost their lives on OPP patrolled highways since the beginning of the year. The contributing factor in these deaths were speeding, alcohol and occupants not being restrained.
Statistics show that the Canada Day Weekend is notorious for its traffic death toll, having more fatal collisions than any other holiday weekend. Approximately one person a day is killed in collisions involving speeding and loss of control.
Officers will also be watching for motorists who don’t obey the “move over/pull to the left” legislation, which calls for vehicles to slow down and proceed with caution for stopped emergency vehicles and, if safe to do so, slow down and move into another lane and proceed with caution. The fine for failing to move to the left is $490 and three demerit points for drivers.
