Multiple Deaths Far More Prevalent in Transport Truck-Related Collisions, Says OPP

OPP to Partner with MTO for Operation Corridor on June 16, 2016

ORILLIA, ON, June 15, 2016 /CNW/ - The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has responded to more than 27,000 collisions involving large transport trucks over the past five years. For this reason, on June 16, 2016, the OPP is teaming up with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for Operation Corridor, a 24-hour enforcement and education initiative aimed at encouraging all commercial vehicle drivers to help keep Ontario roads safe.   

Among the truck-related collisions on OPP-patrolled roads between 2011 and 2015, 260 of them resulted in at least one fatality.  Tragically, many of the crashes involved multiple fatalities with a total of 321 people having lost their lives.

Of the victims, 281 of them were drivers and passengers in other vehicles involved in the crashes. The other 40 victims were drivers of the transport trucks. Whether these collisions were the result of unsafe driving on the part of the truck drivers or the drivers of other vehicles, the most compelling fact remains that on average, over the five-year period, for every transport truck driver that died in these collisions, there were seven other lives lost.

This latest data reinforces the need for commercial truck drivers to make road safety their number one priority. The statistics also serve as a reminder to other motorists to share the road safely with these large vehicles.  

While most of these truck-related incidents were the result of a collision, every year the OPP investigates road incidents involving tires or other equipment dislodging from transport trucks and flying into the path of other vehicles. In many of these instances, the driver and/or other car occupants are seriously injured or killed.

"Every life we lose on our roads is tragic and, sadly, the highest price we pay for crashes on OPP-patrolled roads is in the loss of human life.  As our latest data tells us, crashes involving commercial motor vehicles usually result in a higher number of multiple fatalities when compared to collisions involving regular-sized vehicles.  Although our officers see many safe drivers on our roads every day, those who are not need to know just how devastating and costly it can be when they fail to make safe driving decisions or do not undertake proper maintenance and truck inspections." - OPP Deputy Commissioner Brad Blair, Provincial Commander of Traffic Safety and Operational Support.

During the campaign, officers and their MTO road safety partners will be ensuring that commercial truck drivers are driving safely and that their trucks are being properly inspected and maintained.    

SOURCE Ontario Provincial Police

Contacts by OPP Region: Highway Safety Division, Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, Phone: [phone]; Central Region: A/Sgt. Lynda Cranney, Phone: [phone]; East Region: A/Sgt. Angie Atkinson, Phone: [phone]; North West Region: Const. Diana Cole, Phone: [phone]; North East Region: Sgt. Carolle Dionne, Phone: [phone]; West Region: Sgt. Dave Rektor, Phone: [phone]