A yearly Halton police road safety initiative has revealed that failing to stop at a stop sign was the most common driving offence observed.

The Halton police Traffic Services Unit has compiled statistics from this year’s Project Safe Start.

The campaign ran from Aug. 26 to Sept. 6 and focused on education, awareness and high-visibility enforcement of traffic laws throughout the region.

Over the course of the campaign officers committed 2,631 hours to Safe Start education and enforcement with 1,280 charges laid and 1,331 warnings issued.

Failing to stop for a stop sign was the most common offence, accounting for over half of the offences laid during the project.

Halton police would like to remind drivers that when approaching a stop sign:

* Ensure your vehicle wheels stop rolling and you bring your vehicle to a complete stop
* Stop your vehicle at a marked stop line
* If no stop line is present but you are instead faced with a crosswalk, stop immediately before entering the crosswalk
* If no stop line or crosswalk is present, stop immediately before entering the intersection.

According to staff sergeant Ryan Snow of the Community Mobilization Bureau, traffic laws are essentially the playbook for safe driving. “When everyone chooses to play by the rules, we all win,” he said.

Project Safe Start has operated for 17 years and serves as a reminder to vehicle drivers, cyclists and pedestrians that the public should follow proper traffic safety laws and heed extra caution around school zones.

Residents are reminded that they can file driving complaints or request enforcement of a particular area through the Halton police website at ‘Report a Traffic Concern’.

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