WELLINGTON COUNTY – Local police laid over 100 charges during a safety blitz over the Thanksgiving long weekend.
From Oct. 8 to 11, Wellington County OPP officers participated in the Operation Impact Traffic Safety Initiative, which focused on the OPP’s “big four” offences: speeding/aggressive driving, impaired driving, seatbelt usage and distracted driving.
During the campaign police “conducted high visibility patrols on area roadways with a specific focus on both education and enforcement” and also conducted a number of RIDE programs. Over four days Wellington OPP officers laid approximately 110 charges, including:
- 81 for speeding;
- 21 “hazardous moving violations”;
- three seatbelt violations;
- three for distracted driving; and
- two for impaired driving.
Across Ontario the OPP laid 6,026 charges during the four-day traffic safety blitz, including:
- 4,595 for speeding;
- 109 for racing/stunt driving;
- 269 seatbelt violations;
- 102 for impaired driving; and
- 94 for distracted driving.
The OPP is also reporting five road fatalities in the province over the long weekend, bringing the number of fatalities on OPP-patrolled roads to 218 this year.
“The OPP is reminding drivers and other road users that the majority of collisions and resulting deaths and injuries are preventable through safe, defensive driving and full compliance with seatbelt laws,” states an OPP press release.
