OPP Emphasizes Safety Equipment Use Amid Canada Day Long Weekend

Ontario Provincial Police will be watching the roads, trails and waterways today and over the weekend.

Superior East OPP Constable Ashley Nickle says this weekend will see a focus on safety equipment - including seatbelts.

Constable Nickle also has a reminder for bicycles and ATVs.

Nickle further reminds boaters to wear a life jacket or personal floatation device.

The OPP says - over the last five years - hundreds of people of all ages have died in OPP-investigated traffic or marine incidents in which failure to wear safety equipment was the primary cause or a contributing factor in their death, with: 279 killed in collisions where they didn't wear seatbelts; 114 killed in marine incidents without a lifejacket; 54 killed in off-road incidents without a helmet; and nineteen killed in motorcycle incidents without a helmet.

Constable Nickle also notes officers will be watching for the other "Big Four" factors in fatal collisions: impaired, aggressive, and distracted driving, as well as lack of seatbelts.