Between September 4 – 7, 2020, members from the Northumberland Detachment of the OPP the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) participated in a Provincial Traffic Safety Initiative with a focus on aggressive driving, and the Big 4 which include; impaired driving, distracted driving, speeding, and lack of seatbelt use.
Officers had a busy weekend on our highways, waterways and trails conducting numerous foot patrols, vessel checks, Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere (RIDE) check points, responding to 228 calls for service, along with traffic enforcement that yielded numerous charges in support of the OPP’s Provincial Labour Day Long Weekend Traffic Safety Initiative.
Charges laid within Northumberland County included 104 speeding, 2 careless driving, 5 marine violations, and 11 various other infractions under the Highway Traffic Act and Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act.
The Northumberland OPP Traffic Unit and a member from the Central Region Traffic Incident Management Enforcement (TIME) Team, focused their attention on seatbelt enforcement during this long weekend traffic safety initiative. Their efforts resulted in 62 charges related to seatbelt violations being issued in Northumberland County.
The majority of these charges were from rear seat passengers that were found to be improperly wearing their seatbelts or not wearing seatbelts at all. Young children and infants were among the many passengers not safely secured, with some not secured at all or were being held in the arms of another passenger.
In Ontario motor vehicle drivers and passengers must wear a seatbelt that is properly adjusted and securely fastened. Drivers are also responsible for ensuring any children who are not big enough or old enough to use a seatbelt are secured in an appropriate car seat or booster seat.
If one person decides not to wear a seatbelt, yourself and others in the vehicle are also at risk of serious injury. A seatbelt keeps you inside the vehicle during a collision and without a seat belt, passengers become high-speed projectiles.
The Northumberland OPP would like to remind drivers and passengers that it only takes a few seconds to buckle up. A properly worn seat belt greatly increases your chances of surviving a motor vehicle collision.
A review of important safety practices for drivers, including seatbelts, child car seats and booster seats, can be found at www.mto.gov.on.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
