An inspector with West Region Ontario Provincial Police is alarmed by the sharp increase in fatal collisions involving commercial motor vehicles.
West Region Traffic and Marine Inspector Shawn Johnson blames following too closely and distracted driving for most of those collisions.
"In 2019 in West Region, we investigated 94 per cent more collisions involving commercial motor vehicle fatalities than we have in the average in the past five years," said Johnson.
Carol Dore of the Ontario Truck Driving School cautioned cutting in front of a tractor-trailer is a risky move.
"Let's say there was a truck that was loaded with 20,000 lbs, It takes 150 feet to slow down and to come to a stop, so if we increase the weight by four times, that means the driver needs 150 times four," added Dore.
During a one day blitz in January, OPP officers stopped 51 tractor-trailer drivers and issued 30 charges for following two close.