Canada Road Safety Week is an annual collaborative effort by Canadian Police Services to target high-risk driving behaviours that put others at risk on our highways. The seven-day campaign takes place from May 17th to May 23rd, 2016.
The Greater Sudbury Police Service will be participating in this initiative and focusing on four major categories of offences on our roads: impaired driving, improper use of or failure to use seatbelts, distracted driving, and aggressive driving.
The Greater Sudbury Police Service is looking at increasing public awareness and compliance of safe driving practices that will ultimately save lives. This road safety strategy has the continued goal of making Canada’s highways the safest in the world. Working together, Police Services and community members can make roadways safe for everyone.
So far, in the month of May, officers have already handed out over 100 speeding tickets.
During this road safety initiative, citizens can expect the Traffic Management Unit officers to be monitoring motorists with a zero tolerance approach when it comes to drivers who choose to drive impaired, without a seatbelt, over the speed limit or access a hand-held device while behind the wheel.
It is Our Shared Commitment to keep our roadways safe. Citizens can find more information regarding safe driving practices on the Greater Sudbury Police Service website www.gsps.ca
NATIONAL GENERAL FACTS
• Economic losses caused by traffic collision-related health care costs and lost productivity are at least $10 billion annually. That’s about 1% of Canada’s GDP (Government of Canada).
• Most alcohol-related impaired driving crashes do not occur during the winter months (December, January, and February). The greatest numbers of alcohol-related crashes occur during the summer months (June, July, and August).
• A wide range of drugs (illicit as well as prescription and over-the-counter) have impairing effects on driving-related skills. It is also known that many of these drugs are found in drivers involved in serious road crashes.
• In 2013, 32% of driver fatalities were a result of the driver not properly restrained with a seatbelt. 30% of passenger fatalities were as a result of the passenger not properly restrained. Seatbelts worn correctly can reduce the chances of death in a collision by 47 % and the chances of serious injury by 52 %. Proper use of child restraints can reduce the likelihood of death by 71 % and injury by 67 %.
• Aggressive driving includes speeding, running red lights, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, and failing to yield right of way, among other behaviours. Collision statistics reveal that 27 % of fatalities and 19 % of serious injuries involve speeding.
• 40 % of speeding drivers involved in fatal crashes were 16 to 24 years of age. Most drivers killed in speed-related crashes were the ones speeding. 80 % of young adult passengers who were killed in a speeding crash were in the vehicle with a speeding driver of similar age.
• Driver distraction is involved in 8 out of every 10 collisions.
Crash Odds:
• Text messaging (or texting) on a cell phone – 23 times more likely
• Talking on a cell phone – 4 to 5 times more likely
• Reading – 3 times more likely
• Applying makeup – 3 times more likely
• Reaching for a moving object – 9 times more likely
• Dialing on a hand-held device – 3 times more likely
• Talking or listening on a hand-held device – 1.3 times more likely
General facts obtained from the following source:
CAA
Traffic Injury research Foundation
Statistics Canada
Transport Canada – Road Transportation – Road Safety
