In 2022, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) attended to a record-breaking total of 9,110 transport truck-related crashes, surpassing the highest provincial count in over a decade.
Although the majority of charges were levied against commercial drivers, collisions involving non-commercial (four-wheeler) drivers were also responsible for a substantial number of incidents.
In a press release by the police service, it was revealed that out of the 2,858 charges filed by the OPP in collisions involving transport trucks last year, 1,098 were attributed to non-commercial (passenger vehicle) drivers, with the remaining charges being issued to commercial drivers.
In a joint effort with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), the OPP is intensifying enforcement and education regarding commercial motor vehicle safety to tackle the increasing occurrences of transport truck-related collisions.
According to the OPP, these incidents, comprising 12% of total collisions last year, led to 71 fatalities, with the majority being avoidable. The primary causes identified in these collisions were improper lane changes, tailgating, and speeding.
As the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) commences Operation Safe Driver Week, a regional traffic enforcement initiative focused on driver safety, the announcement coincides with the news. The initiative will be active from July 9-15.
Officers, troopers, and inspectors will prioritize both passenger and commercial vehicles during the enforcement efforts.
Law enforcement personnel will be vigilant for individuals who exhibit behaviors such as speeding, aggressive driving, disregarding road signs, using handheld devices, driving under the influence, and driving while distracted.
Drivers engaging in these behaviors will be pulled over by law enforcement and may receive a warning or a ticket.
In this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week, there will be a particular emphasis on addressing the issue of speeding, as it remains a significant contributing factor to traffic fatalities and injuries.
According to a news release by the CVSA, speeding or driving too fast contributed to 25.3% of all fatal roadway crashes in Canada in 2020. In the United States, there were 11,258 fatal crashes involving at least one speeding driver, accounting for 29% of all traffic fatalities.
Additionally, in Mexico, 16.4% of road crashes on the federal highway network were attributed to excessive speed.
According to the CVSA, the leading driver-related factors in fatal crashes involving commercial motor vehicles were speeding, impairment, and distraction/inattention.
Source : trucknews.com
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