Provincial police are calling this past Thanksgiving weekend "one of the deadliest" in recent history.
Eight people were killed over the long weekend in separate crashes that happened on OPP-patrolled roads. A media release from OPP stated that all four of the fatal collisions happened on Saturday, October 6.
One of the fatal crashes happened on Highway 401 in Elgin County, where a 35-year-old man from Ajax was pronounced dead at the scene. Other fatal collisions happened near Guelph, Port Perry, and Brant County.
Over the past couple of weeks, provincial police have conducted initiatives that targeted dangerous driving behaviours. Results from one of their campaigns, which ran from September 25 to October 5, show that 2,475 were laid for not using a seat belt.
Operation Impact, which ran from October 5 to October 8, saw 6,934 charges laid against people who displayed dangerous driving behaviours. OPP said the majority of charges laid were the result of speeding.
Below is a breakdown of charges laid during the OPP's 2018 Operation Impact campaign.
- Speeding charges - 5,295
- Stunt racing charges - 105
- Seat belt charges - 406
- Distracted driving charges - 149
- Moving violations - 903
- Impaired charges - 76
- Warn range suspensions - 33