OPP to Conduct Safety Enforcement in Response to Increased Truck-Related Collisions

safety enforcement for truck-related crashesIn response to a high number of serious and fatal accidents involving trucks and other commercial vehicles over the last year, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is conducting a week-long safety enforcement, called Operation Safe Trucking, which started on Sunday, August 18th.

The enforcement and education initiative is being done to ensure that commercial drivers are complying with all laws associated with driving, inspections, hours of service regulations and cargo securement.

Ahead of the safety enforcement, the OPP released alarming statistics that showed that 4,816 commercial motor vehicles have been involved in accidents so far this year. To date, these accidents have resulted in 46 fatalities on Ontario roads. By this time last year (mid-August 2018), the police had responded to 4,666 such collisions, 39 of which were fatal.

The findings also reveal that 3,857 of the total number incidents involving trucks were multi-vehicle accidents, in stark contrast to 959 incidents involving a single vehicle.

Truck-related collisions account for 11 per cent of the 42,200 crashes on OPP-patrolled roadways so far in 2019 and have been linked to 30 per cent of the fatal accidents.

The OPP has cautioned that these latest findings do not indicate that all truck drivers were at-fault in each of the collisions reported. The responsibility also falls on drivers of other motor vehicles involved in these incidents.

According to the OPP Chief Superintendent, improper lane changes, following too closely and driving too fast for conditions remain the top three leading factors for truck-related collisions on Ontario roads. By following the rules of the road, every motorist can play an important role in limiting distractions and reducing the amount of collisions to keep the roads safe.  

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Negligence is one of the most common causes of truck accidents. The Windsor truck accident lawyers at our firm understand how devastating injuries from these types of accidents can be. We are ready to provide strong legal representation to help truck accident victims recover just and fair compensation.

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