This Thanksgiving Day weekend, OPP officers across Rainy River District will join all police services across Canada for “Operation Impact.”
Each year, thousands of people are killed in traffic collisions and many more are seriously injured. Many of these tragic losses of life occur on long weekends and have a profound effect on thousands of families.
This year, the OPP and other police services will focus on three key areas which continue to be the main factors in most serious and fatal motor vehicle collisions:
•use of occupant restraints, including children and infants;
•impaired driving; and
•all aspects of aggressive driving behaviour.
OPP officers across the province will be highly visible, looking for motorists who continue to exhibit high risk and unsafe driving habits. There will be no tolerance for violators.
To date this year, the OPP has investigated 284 fatal collisions resulting in the deaths of 327 people.
At this time, impairment by alcohol is confirmed as a factor in 13.4 percent of these collisions. Aggressive driving by excessive speed was identified as the cause in 26.6 percent of the crashes.
Most shockingly, investigators report that failing to wear a seatbelt has directly contributed to 24.4 percent of the fatalities so far this year.