OPP Says 229 People Have Died In Collisions In 2022 & Officers Are On Alert This Weekend

Members of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are keeping a close eye on drivers over Labour Day long weekend as the number of fatal collisions continues to increase.

"OPP officers all across the province are going to be out educating and enforcing the rules of the road. We've had far too many fatal collisions," Sergeant Kerry Schmidt said.

According to the OPP, 229 people have died in road collisions in 2022, marking a 29% increase year-over-year. Of those fatalities, 33 were motorcyclists, and nine were bicyclists.

The latter saw a 350% increase over last year, which saw two bicyclists killed in collisions.

Schmidt warned that the total number of accidents would likely rise in the coming weeks due to an incoming spike in traffic.

"We've seen far too many fatalities, drownings, people out enjoying one last Labor Day long weekend before it's back to school and back to work, a lot of traffic, and we're going to see a lot of increasing volumes of traffic as we get into September."

Last week, OPP warned drivers that officers had seen an increase in "every single driving characteristic" that cause death or injury in 2022.

These behaviours include speeding, impaired or distracted driving, as well as failing to wear safety equipment like seatbelts.

"We need people to understand how important it is to drive safely, drive responsibly, and share the road this year," added Schmidt.

Investigators found in several cases that the motorcyclist was not at fault but rather the victim of an unaware driver turning into them.