It was a tragic start to Canada Road Safety Week with four fatalities reported over the weekend in midwestern Ontario.
On Friday, a report was released showing 58 people have died on OPP-patrolled roads so far this year, a decrease from 97 during the same period last year.
Then on Friday evening, a collision on County Road 109 took the life of a 58-year-old East Garafraxa man. On Sunday, a 68-year-old man died when his pick up hit a tree north of Atwood. A Stratford woman has died in hospital, hours after being struck by a minivan in the Walmart parking lot Sunday morning. And a pedestrian was hit and killed Monday this morning in shallow Lake.
During Canada Road Safety Week, OPP officers will be highly visible in their efforts to keep roads safe, but they are hoping to see road users achieve this goal on their own rather than through enforcement.
Speed, alcohol or drugs, inattentive driving and lack of seat belt use are linked to almost half (45 per cent) of the deaths. Of last year's 97 fatalities, more than half (53 per cent) of the deaths linked to these same causal factors.
"Canada Road Safety Week is an effective traffic enforcement initiative, however, it is only part of the solution to saving lives. It is important that everyone take responsibility to ensure safety on our roads. Make a commitment to obey speed limits, wear your seat belt and never drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs, or while distracted," said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique.