Grey-Bruce crash fatality rate among highest in southwestern Ontario
An OPP officer raced off to the scene of a fatal motorcycle crash near Teeswater, Ont. this August.
It’s one of 14 fatal crashes in Grey-Bruce so far this year — a big increase from five fatal crashes, just two years ago.
“Any increase, whether it’s one or 14, is one too many, especially when all of these collisions are preventable,” said Grey-Bruce OPP Community Services Const., Nick Wilson.
Preventable, because all 14 crashes were related to speeding, impaired, distracted, or aggressive driving, added Wilson.
The increase in fatal crashes is what’s most alarming to Grey Bruce OPP.
Crash numbers have been relatively steady the past few years, with 1,358 crashes in 2020, 1,380 in 2021, and 1,360 so far in 2022.
But, it's a much higher fatality rate than in other jurisdictions, with the 14 fatalities in Grey-Bruce compared to just six in South Bruce, 10 in Wellington County, and nine in Norfolk County.
That puts Grey-Bruce’s fatality rate at over one per cent — one of the highest in southern Ontario.
“I really don’t think there is one perfect solution to it, but we continue with enforcement with our officers, as well as public education to try and address this, as best we can,” said Wilson.
Although it’s not led directly to fatal crashes, stunt driving along the Bruce Peninsula has also been a problem.
The OPP’s Aviation Unit has been brought in to increase enforcement the past two summers, and Sgt. Kerry Schmidt with the GTA Highway Safety Division has reached out via Twitter to the 63 per cent of stunt drivers caught in Grey-Bruce last year that hailed from the Greater Toronto Area.
“Folks, we gotta slow down. We gotta respect our neighbours,” Schmidt said in a recent Twitter video.
During a traffic blitz last Friday meant to combat the increase in fatal crashes, Grey Bruce OPP officers caught 28 people for speed-related offences in one day.
“It is an issue year after year. It’s something we need to work with the public, and they need to work with us, to address,” said Wilson.
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