Ontario Provincial Police say seven people died and almost 15,000 charges were laid on OPP-patrolled roads and waterways during a recent enforcement blitz.
Sgt. Kerry Schmidt made the announcement during an update on the OPP’s Canada Day week safety campaign Wednesday evening. The campaign ran between June 27 and Sunday.
He said five people died in vehicle crashes, noting speeding and losing control of the vehicles were considered to be “lead contributing factors.”
Schmidt said two others died in marine-related collisions with falling overboard and a vessel crash being attributed as the “primary causes of death.”
He said 783 charges were laid in instances where helmets, seatbelts and life jackets weren’t being worn.
When it comes to OPP-patrolled roads, Schmidt said aggressive driving was seen “far too often.” He said 9,419 speeding tickets were issued and 382 stunt driving charges were laid (drivers going 50 km/h or higher over the limit).
Schmidt said 196 distracted driving charged were laid.
As for impaired driving, he said 234 charges were laid.
The breakdown of the balance of the charges laid wasn’t available as of Wednesday evening.