The Victoria Day long weekend exodus is well underway, with drives hitting the roads early on Friday morning to get a head start on the holiday.
“This is the official kickoff to the summer,” Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Dave Woodford told CityNews.
“A lot of people are heading to the cottages and trailer parks for the first time. Part of our job is to make sure those vehicles and those people are safe.”
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The OPP and other officers across the province are out in full force for Road Safety Week, which coincides with the long weekend.
Police are watching for impaired drivers, distracted drivers and those who aren’t wearing their seatbelts.
They’re also reminding drivers about off-road safety.
“That’s one thing we really don’t talk a lot about but 12 people last year lost their lives on trails,” Woodford said
“We are focused on ATVs. A lot of people use them at their cottages and there are laws with using those off-road vehicles.”
Eight people in 2012 were killed on the roads and two more died on the waterways, Woodford added.
Water safety – whether you’re swimming or boating – is also a concern.
“What’s consistent, year after year, is that 80 per cent of those people who drown are men, and 80 per cent of those people who drown while boating did not have a lifejacket on,” Barbara Byers of the Lifesaving Society told CityNews.
Boatsmart advised cottagers to make sure that their boats carry safety equipment, such as life jackets, fire extinguishers, whistles and buoys.
Not having enough life jackets on board can result in a $200 fine and boating without a licence carries a $250 fine.
http://www.citynews.ca/2013/05/17/victoria-day-long-weekend-exodus-underway/