Members of the Huntsville, Bracebridge, Orillia, and Aurora Detachments of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) worked alongside the OPP Aviation Services to enhance road safety leading up to the Thanksgiving long weekend.
On October 9, 2024, and October 10, 2024, OPP officers and pilots patrolled Highway 11, focusing on the “Big Four” factors in serious and fatal collisions: aggressive driving, inattentive driving, impaired driving and lack of occupant restraints. Aggressive driving includes, among other things, speeding, unsafe lane changes and following too close.
Due to heavy traffic and unexpected speed reductions, the OPP Aviation Services tracked several near collisions and directed ground units to intercept these vehicles. As a result, 56 follow too closely charges were laid under the Highway Traffic Act, along with 11 speeding charges and 23 warnings.
On one occasion, a tractor trailer caught the attention of the OPP by weaving through traffic at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was tracked for four kilometers before being intercepted by a ground unit. As a result, the driver was issued four separate offence notices.
The OPP is committed to reducing and preventing injuries on roads, highways, waterways, and trails, while enhancing safety for motorists and all other road users through public education and enforcement.
Claude St.Denis says
I am a retired police officer and I have to say Bravo to the O.P.P. for laying these charges. Please lay more. A charge of “failing to keep right less normal speed” should be laid as often as possible as well for those drivers who figure it is Ok to drive in the left lane whilst having a pile of cars behind them.
Michael Westner says
Dangerious driving is the norm nowadays by way to many aggressive drivers.
Any and all means of reining in this bad behaviour should be applauded. Driving is not an entitlement, it’s a earned privilege.
Bill Beatty says
One of My greatest concerns while driving is Morons who want Me to go faster so they can break the law . Following too close is a habit of brain dead individuals !
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I was wondering if new drivers were being taught to pass on the right?! So many disruptions in the flow of traffic and accidents are also caused by people who choose to speed and weave past/through traffic in the right hand lane. Making it also dangerous to return to the slower lanes again after passing on the left. I dislike Friday and sunday traffic… impatience to get North and then get home again in a rush make the travel treacherous…
Grateful for what the OPP and local forces can do to better the situation
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
I am very grateful to the OPP for doing this. I hope they continue to issue many more fines and charges for the terrible driving on our roads. If you don’t know what a space cushion is, it is time to re-read your driver’s handbook. If you think a space cushion is measured in distance, it is time to re-read your driver’s handbook. A space cushion is the safe amount of space you should keep in front of and behind yuour vehicle so you have time to react to sudden events. It is measured in time (# seconds). We also need stricter training and testing for new drivers.
Anthony Clark says
Kudos OPP and sling the book at these power crazed drivers who have watched too many auto ads. Stay back idiots!
As I recall the UK Highway Code driver book had a chart on back showing reaction time and stopping distance at various speeds. It didn’t stop motorway madness but it surely comes to mind as I travel our highways such as the 400! and 410. Speeding in close formation is a disease. Thank goodness OPP shut a few maniacs down. Impaired driving is bad but lousy driving is worse as so
many motorists do it, Can auto companies be more responsible in the advertising. Especially the big three truckmongers?
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Right on Claude St. Denis !!!
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
So glad to hear that the OPP are cracking down on aggressive driving. There is not a single day that goes by that I don’t have a ‘tail gater’ right on my bumper, no matter what speed I’m going. It is infuriating and so dangerous. Where do these idiots learn to drive? As a Realtor I’m out on the roads quite a bit and the aggressive driving is everywhere in Muskoka not just on the 400 series highways. ‘Follow too close’ is happening everywhere, every day, all the time. So is excessive speeding. Ravenscliffe Road is especially bad. Wish the OPP would set up some sort of trap to catch these idiots and get them off our roads. It gets worse every year.
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
Wonderful, Too many are driving as if its a Right not a Privilege.
Kudo’s to the OPP HSD & Aviation Sections
The Real Person!
The Real Person!
As the owner of Huntsville Young Drivers for the past 16 years, I can assure you that all of our students are taught the proper rules and etiquette of the road.
I also applaud the hard work of our OPP. Most of their kids have taken our course.
When I teach a class of 30 teenagers, I always ask these three questions:
Have you been in a car at speeds of over 150k? About 20% say yes, with the top speed this year being 240k, in a Honda Civic, on Ravenscliffe Road. Dad was driving.
Have you been in a car where the driver has booze or drugs in their system? About 30% say yes.
Have you been in a car where the driver is texting? About 90% say yes!
In the last year one of my instructors was killed in a head-on at Hidden Valley, and one of my students was killed in a motorcycle accident near Bracebridge.
There are too many reasons these things happen, but for me, one of them is leading by example. How are parents and peers driving?
Statistically teenagers have the highest rate of fatalities on the roads, by far. That doesn’t drop until they reach the age of 24.
So when you see someone doing something stupid while driving, PLEASE think about how you could make that a teaching moment and maybe help put an end to irresponsible driving.
Yours in safety,
Ross Carlin
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The Real Person!
I agree wholeheartedly with the aggressive driving observations. If I can get the license number, then I call the OPP. I’m sure they are tired of hearing from me! But I feel strongly about the rudeness of these drivers and the lack of caring about how they affect other road users.