Fatal Collisions Rise Dramatically in 2018
Published January 16, 2018 at 10:08 pm
It’s no secret that this winter has been particularly brutal, but the bursts of ice and snow might not be entirely responsible for the dramatic–and alarming–uptick in fatal collisions on Ontario roads.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Sgt. Kerry Schmidt recently announced that a shocking 26 people have been killed in collisions on OPP patrolled roads in 2018.
That means that close to 30 people have died in the first two weeks of the year–a staggering increase of 271 per cent over last year.
“We’ve had a really horrible start to 2018,” Schmidt said in a Periscope video posted to Twitter earlier this week. “Twenty-six people dead in collisions so far this year. Those numbers are sobering. To think that 26 people died already this year and it’s just the 15th of January.
Schmidt is reminding drivers that they can all “do their part in making sure everyone gets home safely by slowing down, focusing the road and paying attention.”
Of the crashes that have happened already this year, Schmidt says it’s not possible to say which were weather-related, but he does say that a significant number of them were probably related to a lack of attention and care while driving.
Videos
Drivers are reminded to ensure their head and tail lights are always on and in good working order. They are also reminded to drive according to road/weather conditions and to pay attention to their surroundings at all times.
Photo courtesy of the OPP
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