OPP deploying plane to watch traffic on eastern Ontario roads heading into the long weekend

Ontario Provincial Police will have eyes in the skies to watch traffic on 400-series highways across eastern Ontario in the lead up to the first long weekend of summer.

As part of Canada Road Safety Week, officers will be focusing on the “Big Four” factors in serious and fatal collisions – aggressive driving, distracted driving, impaired driving and failing to wear seatbelts.

Police say a plane from the OPP Aviation Services will be working with officers on the roads, “to weed-out dangerous drivers who are putting their own lives, and the lives of everyone else on the roads, in jeopardy.”

The OPP says 411 people were killed in collisions on OPP-patrolled roads in 2023.

“Drivers who insist on breaking the law and driving dangerously should consider this their warning,” OPP Acting Insp. Chris Beechey said in a statement.

On Monday, a driver was stopped going 61 km/h over the speed limit on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa, according to police.

“This speed was especially dangerous, given the weather at the time,” the OPP said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Driver was issued a 30-day DL suspension and 14-day vehicle impoundment. Driver faces a minimum $2,000 fine and 6 demerits upon conviction.”

Canada Road Safety Week continues until Monday.

Source

Posted in CTV