OPP remind drivers to buckle up ahead of Easter long weekend

As families prepare to travel, the Ontario Provincial Police is gearing up for its Easter long weekend traffic campaign initiative.

The police force will be increasing enforcement throughout the province to ensure that drivers do their part in saving lives by buckling up.

Last Easter weekend, officers handed out over 1,300 tickets to drivers for a number of offences, namely for seatbelts, but also distracted driving, impaired driving and speeding.

Sixty-one people died last year in seat-belt related fatalities, and OPP gave out more than 9,000 seatbelt related charges in 2022.

Last year, during the #Easter2022 weekend, five people died in crashes.
This #Easter2023 weekend, the OPP will be focusing on seatbelt compliance, this, along with #ImpairedDriving, aggressive, and distracted driving. Get to your destinations safely and always #BuckleUp. pic.twitter.com/MKp7bj1itF

— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) April 7, 2023

This comes as Niagara is facing a potentially record breaking amount of fatal crashes on local roads.

So far this year, there have been six deaths in car crashes – there were 18 deaths in total last year.

Police say the traffic initiative will begin today and end on Monday. It is an effort to change driving behaviours and save lives.

The fine for not wearing a seatbelt is $240 and two demerit points.

READ MORE: Memorial held for 10-year-old boy killed in collision on QEW