Top traffic offences statistics were released by the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) Traffic Unit's Project Safe Start 2017. These statistics were gathered as the new school year kicked off in Halton.
For more than ten years, Project Safe Start has been a highly visible reminder to drivers in Halton including Oakville that children are back in school. Project Safe Start stresses the need to slow down in and around school zones, watch for pedestrians and pay attention to school crossing guards escorting children across busy intersections.
Over the course of the 2017 two week campaign, which ran from August 28 to September 8,
Halton Regional Police officers focused on a number of unsafe driving behaviours. The top traffic offences observed by police were:
- Speeding (1,042 charges),
- Disobeying stop signs (480 charges) and
- Distracted driving (126 charges).
HRPS officers issued a total of 2,482 Provincial Offence Notices related to Project Safe Start 2017. This is a slight increase compared to the 2,299 Provincial Offence Notices issued during Project Safe Start in 2016. Police also issued 736 warnings to drivers in 2017.
HRPS also rolled out an aggressive social media campaign as part of the road safety initiative. Traffic messages and rules of the road were posted online every day. The messages gathered more than 137,000 impressions online.
Drivers & Cyclists: Please watch out for kids at school crossings & pedestrian crossovers.
"Traffic safety begins with the individual choices each driver makes." said Sergeant Ryan Snow, Traffic Services Unit. "When drivers comply with the rules of the road, everyone wins and gets to go home safely."
Residents are reminded that they can file driving complaints or request enforcement of a particular area online at www.haltonpolice.ca under Most Requested Information -> Roadwatch or Traffic Complaints respectively. Criminal/dangerous driving should be reported immediately by calling 9-1-1.