A special demonstration was held by Perth County OPP in Mitchell on Monday.
The OPP, local fire and EMS crews staged a mock vehicle collision response, to show how a multi-vehicle collision would be handled by the various emergency services.
OPP Community Safety and Media Relations Officer Laura Brown said there are a number of takeaways for the public.
"If you see something, report it immediately, whether that's a motor vehicle collision, or any other occurrence, mild or serious in nature, because the faster that response gets mobilized, the sooner we can get help for those in need," she said.
Officer Brown also said another aspect for the public is recognizing all the resources and teamwork required to respond to accidents safely and quickly, and why respecting and understanding lengthy road closures is crucial. "It really takes all hands on deck, from police, fire, ambulance, tow trucks, roads departments, at times we need utility companies if there are downed power lines or anything like that," she said. "So, the list grows pretty quickly depending on what the situation is, and we want people to understand that the closures are there and can be lengthy based on severity, and how much resources are needed to respond and assess things like this safely."
After the live demonstration, OPP Constable Sue Blacklock explained what occurs after the initial response, which involves police investigating the crash to determine how it occurred. "So what physical evidence has been left as a result of the motor vehicles colliding. So that could be tire marks, gouge marks, vehicle debris, if the person is ejected, if the vehicle has gone airborne where has it landed?" she said.
Constable Blacklock said depending on the severity, the investigations could take over 10 hours to document, and police need that time to accurately document what they can, because they only have one opportunity to do it right, which is why it's crucial that the public understand why roads need to be closed for long periods of time sometimes. She said she hopes people understand why lengthy road closures are necessary to complete thorough crash investigations.
"Today people are very impatient, but at the end of the day, especially if there's a fatality or especially if I'm getting engaged, at the end of the day that could have been you or your loved one, and I'm sure you'd want that loved one who perished and your family to have all the answers possible," said Blacklock. "We don't want to be there and have the road closed for long periods of time, but we need to be there and it's necessary to get it right."
Constable Blacklock, who teaches the collision reconstruction course at the OPP academy, said people need to be aware of road safety and take responsibility for their own conduct on the road at all times.
The two vehicles used as part of the special motor vehicle crash response demonstration hosted by Perth County OPP in Mitchell. September 17th, 2018 (Photo by Ryan Drury)
OPP officers make a mock arrest as part of the motor vehicle crash demonstration hosted by Perth County OPP in Mitchell. The demonstration was set up as an impaired driving accident involving drugs, which involved two vehicles. September 17th, 2018 (Photo by Ryan Drury)
Following a mock crash response exercise, Perth County OPP officers demonstrated how a motor vehicle crash investigation would be carried out after paramedics and firefighters leave the scene. September 17th, 2018 (Photo by Ryan Drury)