OPP commissioner takes aim at ‘irresponsible driving behaviour’
Posted January 30, 2014 8:03 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
On a week that has seen three Ontario Provincial Police cruisers hit by other vehicles so far, the commissioner is taking aim at what he calls “irresponsible driving behaviour.”
Eleven OPP cruisers have been struck by passing vehicles since the weekend. In most cases, there were snowy and icy conditions on the roadways.
However, OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis said the blame lies with irresponsible drivers, rather than bad weather or poor driving conditions.
“I want to make it very clear: severe weather and poor driving conditions are not the main cause in the overwhelming number of collisions we’ve seen these past several weeks,” Lewis said.
“It is the way people are driving in these conditions that jeopardizes the safety of the motoring public and our officers. This irresponsible driving behaviour must stop.”
The OPP warns that in severe weather conditions, drivers should slow down and keep an eye out for emergency responders.
Three OPP cruisers were struck by passing motorists since Monday and two of those collisions occurred on Wednesday. Over the weekend, eight OPP were struck by passing vehicles.
In one incident on Wednesday, the driver of a tractor-trailer on the southbound Highway 410 in Brampton lost control of the vehicle and collided with an unmarked OPP cruiser. The police vehicle was pinned between the concrete barrier and the tractor-trailer, and the officer had to extricated from the cruiser and was taken to hospital.
The OPP said it has responded to thousands of calls for service due to irresponsible driving during this winter so far.
