2022 Was ‘Deadly’ for Vehicle, Boating Accidents, Say Ontario Police

Vehicles on Highway 401 westbound in Kingston, Ont., on Jan. 11, 2019. Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press

The year 2022 was deadly for car and marine accidents in Ontario, with 423 people dying in car, snowmobile, and boat crashes, which worked out to at least one death per day, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

This was higher than the 2021 total of 315 people dying on roads, which was a 3 percent increase from 2020.

In 2022, 84 people died as a result of speeding or aggressive driving type collisions. In 2021, speeding was responsible for the deaths of 81 people, which was then a 10-year high in deaths related to excessive speed while on the road.

On Jan. 1, OPP’s Highway Safety Division released the 2022 statistics, with OPP Sergeant Kerry Schmidt posting on Twitter that last year was “deadly.”

Schmidt said that in 2022, 252 people died in motor vehicle crashes, 27 in off-road vehicle crashes; 29 were a result of boating or marine fatalities; and 14 people died while driving a snowmobile during the 2021 to 2022 winter season.

“Help make 2023 a safer year on the roads, waterways, and trails,” he wrote.

A Death Each Day

Of the 353 people that died in a motor vehicle collision, 53 of them died as a result of alcohol or drug-related situations, while 66 died as a result of inattention or distraction, according to Schmidt.

Another 57 people died because they were not wearing the required safety equipment or a seatbelt; 44 individuals driving a motorcycle were killed, as well as 29 pedestrians and 12 bicyclists.

The fatalities worked out to more than one death every single day across the province that were investigated by the OPP.

In mid-November, the OPP began the “Festive Ride” campaign and charged at least 1,241 drivers with various infractions, with 243 in the greater Toronto area (GTA).

On Jan. 1, the OPP said in the previous 24-hour period during New Year’s, there were 56 impaired driving charges laid, of which 11 were in the GTA.

The number of fatal collisions in 2020 was 284 and in 2021 the number was 288. In 2021, the OPP responded to 60,544 road crashes.

Across the country, 27 percent of traffic fatalities on Canadian roads have been attributed to speeding. In terms of motorcycle fatalities, the main cause of death is excessive speed, causing 12 percent of deaths.

Young people aged 16 to 24 make up 40 percent of drivers who were speeding, and 80 percent of young adults who were killed in a car crash as a passenger were driving with another young driver.