WELLINGTON COUNTY – Local police issued 43 tickets for seatbelt violations during a safe driving campaign over the Easter long weekend (April 15 to 18).
“Failure to use seatbelts continues to be a major contributing factor in many vehicle collision fatalities,” states a Wellington County OPP press release issued on April 20.
“OPP members were committed to enforcing the rules around seatbelt usage in an effort to target risky behaviour that put lives unnecessarily at risk.”
Across Ontario the OPP charged 1,386 drivers and passengers for seatbelt violations over Easter weekend.
“OPP officers also focused their efforts on ensuring the safe movement of traffic on one of the busiest weekends of the year on roadways,” states a press release from OPP headquarters.
“Sadly, four people lost their lives in two separate motor vehicle collisions. A fifth person died in an all-terrain vehicle incident, marking the first off-road fatality of the year.”
Police say 85 people have died on OPP-patrolled roads so far this year, which marks a 57 per cent increase over last year at this time, when there were 54 fatalities.
“With warmer weather settling in across the province, the OPP is reminding the public to keep safety at top of mind when heading out on roads, trails and waterways in the coming weeks/months,” states the OPP press release.
“Collectively, Ontarians have the ability to significantly reduce the number of collisions and resulting fatalities and injuries by never engaging in risky driving behaviours on and off the road.”
