The Ontario Provincial Police are reminding drivers to be cautious this holiday weekend and before the start of school on Tuesday.
With many families and other people heading out on roads for the last long weekend before the start of school, OPP is counting on all motorists to be exemplary drivers this weekend and commit to doing so throughout the year.
In 2023, 239 people have been killed on OPP-patrolled roads, marking this as a critical time for drivers to be extra cautious.
Close to 50 per cent of this year's road fatalities were attributed to drivers who were speeding, inattentive, alcohol/drug impaired or not wearing their seatbelt, known as the "Big Four" factors in road deaths.
Speaking on AM800's Live and Local, Provincial Constable Steven Duguay, says the collisions are preventable.
"A lot of these collisions that we have, somebody made a poor judgement at one point, whether it's intoxicated or not paying attention on the road, distracted driving, speeding at a high rate of speed, these are things that are contributing to these fatalities, and they're totally preventable."
He says he doesn't understand how drivers and passengers don't wear a seatbelt.
"When you're getting into a vehicle, if there's one thing that can help keep you safer in the event of a collision, is your seatbelt. And I don't understand it. To me, for myself personally, it is an automatic. I reach for it without even thinking about it as soon as I get in a vehicle."
Constable Duguay says kids are excited for the school year, and may cross the road without looking.
"In school zones they're reduced speed limits of 40 kilometres an hour for a reason because kids are all over the place, we have crossing guards trying to help them cross the road, they'll come off the school bus really not paying attention. So, we have to add that extra attention to detail around school zones, even just in neighbourhoods."
Between 2018 and 2022, more than half of the fatalities were attributed to the Big Four, accounting for 946 deaths among those that were completely preventable.
Duguay says drivers need to think about themselves and others while on the road, and to be cautious of children on roads.