ORILLIA, Ont. -- Provincial police say data compiled over the last 10 years suggests men aged 25 to 34 are the most common victims in the fatal collisions they investigate.
OPP say they are releasing the figures in order to shed light on the victims and factors involved in more than 3,500 deaths on provincially patrolled roads between 2005 and 2014.
Young adult males are the hardest hit, police say, with the 10-year data revealing that twice as many males (2,358) have died in collisions as females (1,146).
Men aged 25 to 34 accounted for 397 of the deaths and of those, 310 of them were drivers and 60 were passengers.
Drivers accounted for about 69 per cent of the deaths, while about 23 per cent of those killed were passengers and 7.7 per cent were pedestrians.
Over the 10-year period, 856 people died in crashes in which lack of seat belt use was a factor in their deaths -- 611 of them drivers and 245 passengers.
And a total of 696 people died in collisions involving large commercial transport trucks, with 604 of those killed being occupants of the other vehicles involved.
Among the 92 truck drivers who died, 70 of them were reported as not driving properly at the time of the collision.
A total of 279 motorcyclists died during the 10 years, with 190 of them reported as not driving properly at the time.
Deputy Commissioner Brad Blair says people should think about the "big picture" when someone dies in a road crash, such as the cost of pain, grief and suffering on the surviving families, as well as the emotional trauma experienced by police officers and other emergency responders.
"By personifying our collision data, the public can better grasp the magnitude of loss and the impact poor driving behaviour has had on thousands of lives in Ontario these past 10 years," said Blair.
"A fatal road crash happens in a split second, but its consequences are far reaching and last for months, years and for some surviving family members, the rest of their lives."
