The Ontario Provincial Police open Canada Road Safety Week with a sobering statistic.
There were more deaths on the roads they patrol last year than at any time since 2007.
A total of 411 people died in collisions, the first time the number of fatalities has exceeded 400 in 15 years.
"Speeding, driver inattention, impaired driving, and failure to wear a seatbelt account for a significant number of road fatalities year after year," said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique. "Because these road deaths are linked to poor behaviours and actions, they are irrefutably preventable."
The OPP will join police services across Canada this week to collectively target the behaviours responsible for most road deaths. Those remain impaired driving, speed, distracted driving, and not wearing a seatbelt.
The Canada Road Safety Week is part of a broader strategy to make roads the safest in the world, Canada Road Safety Strategy 2025.
The initiative starts Tuesday and runs through May 20.
