OPP said most fatal truck-involved crashes in 2024 were caused by other drivers
In July 2024, Ontario Provincial Police said non-commercial drivers were at fault in 86% of such crashes, ahead of Operation Safe Driver Week.
In July 2024, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said transport trucks had been involved in almost 20% of fatal collisions in its jurisdictions so far that year, with 31 deaths.
The OPP said 86% of those crashes were linked to poor driving by non-commercial drivers. Commercial drivers were at fault in the other 14%. Speeding, following too closely and improper passing were among the behaviours involved.
The numbers
- Collisions involving transport trucks made up about 11% of all collisions the OPP had investigated in 2024 to that point.
- In 2023, 8,622 of the 77,076 collisions the OPP investigated involved commercial vehicles.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said aggressive and careless drivers had no place on the roads, especially around large commercial vehicles. Derek Rogers, a spokesperson for the OPP's West Region, said trucks are heavier, harder to stop and harder to manoeuvre in an emergency. He said seven of the deaths occurred in the West Region.
Enforcement week
The OPP and Ontario's Ministry of Transportation joined police across North America for Operation Safe Driver Week, July 7 to 13, 2024. The campaign combined more truck inspections and safety checks with education on how to share the road with commercial vehicles.