OPP say fatal transport truck collisions are up in all but two of their six regions this year.
Transport truck and car traffic on the 401 at the Veterans Memorial interchange at the eastern entrance to London. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)
Officers have responded to 33 transport truck-related crashes so far this year — a 38 per cent increase compared to this time last year. Police said 41 people have died in the crashes.
The OPP has investigated more than 3,600 transport truck related collisions, which is about 11 per cent of the total number of collisions.
As a result, OPP said they have laid more than 1,600 speeding charges, 354 distracted driving charges and 963 defective equipment-related charges against transport truck drivers.
The OPP will begin its campaign, Operation Safe Trucking, on Monday.
Fatal Transport Truck Collisions year-to-date (January 1 to July 9, 2018)
- Central region: 2 collisions, no change compared to 2017
- Northwest region: 2 collisions, a decrease of 60 per cent from 2017
- East region: 8 collisions, an increase of 33.3 per cent from 2017
- Northeast region: 9 collisions, an increase of 800 per cent from 2017
- Highway safety division: 3 collisions, an increase of 50 per cent from 2017
- West region: 9 collisions, an increase of 12.5 per cent from 2017
Source: The London Free Press