DON’T LOOK NOW, BUT … WATCH OUT FOR POLICE TRAFFIC BLITZ THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

MUSKOKA — Keep an eye on the road and another on your rear-view mirror the next four days.

Because the police will be watching you drivers the next four days.

As Ontario is back on the move this holiday, the OPP is bracing for some of the heaviest traffic volumes of the year this Thanksgiving weekend.

Officers will conduct province-wide targeted enforcement and provide education on alcohol/drug-impaired, aggressive and inattentive/distracted driving, as well as lack of seatbelt use – all main causes of death and injury on Canadian roadways.

They say police are counting on drivers and other road users to refrain from any behaviours that risk adding to the 208 deaths on OPP-patrolled roads already this year.

In its ongoing effort to reduce the number of road fatalities and injuries, over the long weekend, the OPP will join Canadian policing partners for Operation Impact, a national traffic safety campaign that supports Canada’s Road Safety Strategy and aims to make Canada’s roads the safest in the world.

Between Friday and Monday officers will conduct province-wide targeted enforcement and provide education on alcohol/drug-impaired, aggressive and inattentive/distracted driving, as well as lack of seatbelt use – all main causes of death and injury on Canadian roadways.

The OPP reminds drivers to share our roads safely and keep themselves and their passengers safe so that everyone arrives at their destination.

Heading into October, the OPP has responded to more than 39,400 motor vehicle collisions, 195 of which were fatal and 5,100 of which resulted in injuries. Last week marked the 31st motorcyclist death on OPP-patrolled roads. Among this year’s road deaths, 54 people died in 46 collisions that involved a commercial motor vehicle.

The add a significant number of these 195 road fatalities could have been avoided. To date, speed has contributed to 51 road deaths. Driver inattention has been linked to 35 fatalities, while lack of seatbelt use among drivers and passengers accounts for the loss of 34 lives. Alcohol/drugs has been a factor in 23 of the deaths.

The OPP is reminding drivers to share our roads safely and keep themselves and their passengers safe so that everyone arrives at their destination.

Drivers are urged to be extra safety cautious this weekend, as police will be on the lookout for all manner of violators on the roads exhibiting bad and dangerous behaviours in a bid to avoid adding to the 208 deaths on OPP-patrolled roads already this year.