West Region OPP say Southwestern Ontario has had the highest number of truck crash fatalities in Ontario so far in 2019.

To date, 18 people have died in the region. Across the province there have been 46 fatal crashes involving commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), including two that collectively took the lives of five people.

In Ontario, the OPP are reporting 4,816 CMV crashes so far in 2019, whereas by mid-August in 2018, there were 4,666 CMV collisions, with 39 of them being fatal.

Crashes involving CMVs account for 11 per cent of the total collisions on OPP-patrolled roads and are linked to 30 per cent of fatal crashes.

But the OPP remind drivers that the numbers don't necessarily mean the commercial driver is at fault in the collision.

OPP Chief Supt. Alison Jevons said in a statement, "Improper lane changes, following too closely and driving too fast for the conditions remain leading factors in Commercial Motor Vehicle collisions on OPP-patrolled roads."