Ontario Provincial Police are sounding the alarm, and raising awareness, over a 56 per cent increase in motorcyclist fatalities in the province this year with officers saying that almost all are preventable.
Officers say more motorcycle collisions last week brings this year's fatalities to 39, setting the stage for a possible 10-year high in motorcyclist deaths on OPP-patrolled roads.
Three motorcyclists under the age of 19 and two passengers are among the riders who have lost their lives this year.
That has the OPP expanding its vantage point to the sky with its Cessna airplane and the Aerial Enforcement Program (AEP).
OPP West Division Sgt. Ed Sanchuk says the Cessna 206 is an effective tool for spotting and tracking motorcyclists. along with other drivers, who think traveling at high speeds is worth the risk.
"We just want to remind riders, as well as motorists who share roadways with them, that motorcyclists are the most vulnerable drivers on our roads even when they drive safely. They do not have the same protection we do and unfortunately anytime that we do go to a motorcycle collision it's either usually ending up in life-altering or life-ending injuries. So we want to put that reminder out there that we're not invincible," he said.
Sanchuk says there are great motorcyclists and drivers on the roads, but there are a selective few who aren't putting safety as a priority and putting other drivers at risk.
He says Cessna airplane isn't a new piece of equipment, and it's always accompanied by a police officer observer who uses specialized equipment to calculate the distance of a vehicle that travels between highway markings to accurately determine a driver's speed.
"Obviously when we do spot high speed vehicles on the roadways, this will be a great tool to keep the public safe as well. To determine where that motorcyclist or motor vehicle actually arrives at when we send officers to that location. It's a real safety issue, we want to make sure that our public is kept safe at all times, and this is just another tool in our tool belt to do that."
He says specific to the West Region, they've seen 11 motorcycle fatalities so far this year compared to only one in 2023.
The message from Sanchuk and the OPP is if people see dangerous behaviour out on the roads to call police and report it every time.
"Because that one phone call can and will save lives. I was just travelling down the 401 with my family, and we had a motorcyclist travelling in excess of 200km/h lane splitting. And one mistake is going to end that person's life, the last thing that anyone needs is to have a knock at the door from a police officer saying that your loved one is seriously injured or deceased as a result of a preventable crash," he said.
Sanchuk says later this month they're hoping to get an officer up in the Cessna plane to just show the impact the vantage point offers police to have a birds eye view.