The Ontario Provincial Police took to social media Monday morning to deliver some sombre statistics.
In a short video posted to X (formerly Twitter), OPP Media Relations Officer Sgt. Kerry Schmidt stated that 257 people have died so far this year in collisions on Ontario roads, trails and waterways - including nine in the last seven days.
“Investigators have already determined that the primary causes of some of those recent crashes are because of speeding, failing to yield and impaired driving,” said Schmidt, noting that speeding and aggressive driving continue to be the number one cause of road crashes across the province.
Schmidt says OPP officers have laid 375 impaired driving charges and 194 stunt driving charges over the past two weeks - and while this is a slight decline, the numbers are up year-over-year.
So far in 2023, OPP have laid 6,892 impaired driving charges and 3,760 stunt driving charges, he added, which represents an increase over 2022 and 2021.
“Please, if you're going to be out on the roads, make better decisions, drive sober, drive alert, wear safety equipment and obey the speed limits,” urges Schmidt. “Please get to your destination safely and let's not see these numbers continue to increase.”
257 people have died this year in collisions on OPP patrolled roads/trails/waterways. Over 10k charges of #ImpairedDriving or #StuntDriving laid this year well. pic.twitter.com/M332nGC3LD
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) August 21, 2023
