Canada Day Week traffic campaign sees seven fatalities, 11,014 charges
Every summer, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) runs a Canada Day Week safety campaign. This year’s campaign ran from Thursday, Jun. 27 to Sunday, Jul. 5, 2020.
During this year’s weekly campaign, five people died in motor vehicle collisions and two were killed in boating accidents. The causes of the marine deaths were falling overboard, and collision with another vessel.
Province Wide Statistics:
| Offense | # of charges |
| Speeding | 9419 |
| Stunt Driving | 382 |
| Alcohol/Drug Impairment | 234 |
| Distracted Driving | 196 |
| Non-Compliance with safety laws (life jackets, seatbelts, helmets) | 783 |
Members of Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Detachments, Highway Safety Division, and Marine Units across the East Region laid 2,226 traffic related charges. These charges are reflected in the Province Wide table above.
Among the charges were:
| Offense | # of charges |
| Highway: | |
| Speeding | 1393 |
| Stunt Driving | 68 |
| Hazardous Moving Violations | 344 |
| Impaired by Drugs or Alcohol | 42 |
| Distracted Driving | 24 |
| Marine: | |
| PDF/Lifejacket | 48 |
| Other: | |
| No helmet (motorcycle, bicycle, and off road) | 6 |
Every summer the Frontenac Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) participate in the same Canada Day Week traffic safety campaign over the Canada Day holiday.
Frontenac OPP members laid the following charges between Thursday, Jun. 27 and Sunday, Jul. 5, 2020. These charges are reflected in the Province Wide table above.
| Offense | # of charges |
| Speeding | 34 |
| Stunt Driving | 9 |
| Seatbelt | 1 |
| Distracted Driving | 1 |
| Alcohol in Motor Vehicle | 1 |
| Impaired Driving by Alcohol | 3 |
| Impaired Driving by Drug | 1 |
| Impaired by Alcohol – Off Road Vehicle | 2 |
| No Helmet – Off Road Vehicle | 1 |
The Lennox and Addington detachment of the OPP laid 240 traffic related charges over the same week, June 27 to July 5, 2020.
“L&A County OPP officers did a great job on our roadways, identifying and charging aggressive, impaired, and distracted drivers in order to enhance public safety. Though I am extremely pleased that they did not need to investigate any fatal motor vehicle collisions, it is concerning that we are able to lay nearly 240 charges for various offences. We remind all motorists to slow down, not to drink and drive, and stay off their electronic devices, as these are often the cause of, or a factor, in motor vehicle collisions,” said Inspector Scott Semple, Commander of L&A County OPP
L&A County charges are broken down in the following chart, and are reflected in the Province Wide table above:
| Offense | # of charges |
| Speeding | 164 |
| Stunt Driving | 10 |
| Hazardous Moving Violations | 33 |
| Distracted Driving | 5 |
| Impaired by Drugs or Alcohol | 4 |
| Seatbelts | 18 |
| Other criminal driving charges | 4 |
| Suspensions and other provincial charges | 2 |
“OPP members will be on the highways, trails and waterways all summer, working to ensure everyone’s safety,” Inspector Dave Tovell, Manager of OPP Traffic and Marine Programs in eastern Ontario said. “The bottom line is wearing your PFD, seatbelt and helmet can prevent an incident from becoming a tragedy.”
The OPP would like to thank all Ontarians who helped keep roads, trails, and waterways safe during Canada Day week.