The last long weekend of the summer is here and it’s always a busy one in Northwestern Ontario.
Provincial Police will be out in full force on the road and on the lake to ensure everyone stays safe and is following the rules.
Karl Duewel is the Detachment Commander in Sioux Lookout and says officers across the region will be focusing on what they call the “Big 4”; impaired driving, aggressive driving, seatbelt use and distracted driving.
Duewel says, “We’re not out there looking to find people committing these offences. What would be a really successful campaign would be that we are out there ensuring that people are safe and finding that everybody is abiding by the rules and there is no need for that enforcement.”
Andrea Degagne is the Acting Operation Sergeant in Sioux Lookout and says they will be compiling stats over the Labour Day weekend.
“It does give a glimpse of who is using our roadways and the number of people that are following the rules as well as the number of unsafe drivers on the road. So it gives us a short timeframe and point-in-time count.”
Province-wide, the OPP has responded to 203 fatal road collisions this year in which 229 people have died.
That’s up compared to 202.
Off-road vehicle deaths are also significantly higher at 19, and boating fatalities (20) are not far off last year’s mark.
