Just trying to hone his PR skills,he needs some work!
Here's one for you guys.
One of my key objectives since becoming Commissioner of the Ontario
Provincial Police (OPP) in October 2006, has been to reduce fatalities and
serious injuries on more than 900,000 kilometres of roads for which the OPP is
responsible.
I am pleased that we are finally starting to see a significant downward
trend in both serious collisions and fatalities overall as well as reductions
in deaths attributed to speeding, alcohol and not wearing a seatbelt.
To date in 2008, 174 people have been killed on roads patrolled by the
OPP, compared to 256 in 2007, a decline of 32 per cent. That's the equivalent
of 82 lives saved. The number of fatal collisions is also down significantly -
151 this year versus 221 in 2007, a 31.7 per cent drop.
Deaths where excessive speed was a factor are down 40.2 per cent - from
102 last year to 61 this year. Alcohol-related fatalities are down 37 per cent
(29 versus 46).
This encouraging trend is directly attributable to a number of factors:
- The Provincial Traffic Safety Program, introduced in March 2007. It
puts the onus on every OPP uniform officer to make traffic safety a
priority 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- The return to the highly visible black and white patrol cruisers.
- The concentrated deployment of officers throughout the province.
- The renewed/reinvigorated OPP-wide efforts to increase our
effectiveness in reducing the carnage on our highways.
- The 24/7 province-wide Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE)
teams.
- Using Results-Driven Policing to identify and target problem areas for
extra enforcement.
- The re-introduction of OPP aerial traffic enforcement. Over the Civic
Holiday Weekend, the OPP plane and a second rental aircraft were
responsible for 561 charges, including 497 for speeding. We are
continuing to target problem areas across the province and to deploy
the plane to those areas. Over the Civic Holiday Weekend, we laid
5,643 charges for exceeding the posted speed.
- Introduction of Section 172 of the Highway Traffic Act in September
2007. This legislation, mistakenly referred to as "stunt driving or
racing" legislation, allows police services across the province to
suspend a driver's licence for seven days and impound a vehicle on the
spot if the motorist is caught driving at more than 50 kilometres
above the posted speed limit. The legislation also applies to certain
aggressive driving actions, such as weaving in and out of traffic,
following too closely and making illegal turns.
- Increased media and public attention to the dangers of excessive
speeding, aggressive driving and the number of senseless deaths
directly attributable to inconsiderate motorists.
Traffic safety is a shared responsibility that includes the police, the
public and the justice system.
The OPP won't be deterred from our goal of making Ontario's highways even
safer than they are now. The results our efforts are achieving are what should
matter, not the views of a few misguided individuals who refuse to acknowledge
that excessive speed kills.
We are making progress in changing drivers' behaviour and that's good
news for everyone.
Yours truly,
Julian Fantino
For further information: Bruce O'Neill, Communications Adviser, Corporate
Communications Bureau and Highway Safety Division, Ontario Provincial Police,
(905) 751-2021