(PERTH COUNTY, ON) The Perth County Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.) report that over the Easter Long Weekend, their officers as part of their patrols paid particular attention to unsafe drivers who disregard the “Big 4†driving behaviours. These behaviours include impaired driving, speeding (aggressiveness), distracted driving and lack of seatbelt usage.
Perth County started this Easter Traffic Campaign on a sad note when they responded to one of the three fatal motor vehicle collisions that occurred in Ontario over the Easter Long Weekend. The fatal collision occurred early Friday morning April 18th, 2014 and investigation determined that speed and lack of seatbelt usage was a factor in this collision.
In addition to investigating this fatal collision, Perth County OPP officers conducted extensive traffic patrols and nine RIDE programs between Friday April 18, 2014, and Monday April 21, 2014. These actions resulted in two motorists being charged with impaired driving, 65 with speeding, one with distracted driving and 25 with failing to wear a seatbelt.
“It is disappointing to see the high number of seatbelt infractions in Perth County, especially when leading up to and over the long weekend, the OPP issued reminders to road users about the importance seat belts and proper child restraints play in reducing the loss of life on our roadsâ€. – Provincial Constable Kees Wijnands
While the majority of drivers were on board with the OPP’s long weekend road safety messages, the Perth County fatality and the other two Ontario fatalities over the weekend serve as a harsh reminder that it only takes one act of carelessness behind the wheel to tragically raise the number of deaths on our roads.
The OPP continues to urge drivers to concentrate on positive driving behaviours in an effort to prevent further tragedies on our roads.