A rainy, cool Sunday has kept the volume of traffic on our highways a little lighter than yesterday. But it hasn’t cut back on the number of dangerous problems police have been watching out for on their patrols.
OPP officers were pulling drivers over on Highway 11 north of Barrie today as part of their Operation Impact weekend campaign. They're cracking down on the so-called "big four" problems: speeding, impaired driving, distracted driving, and seat belt infractions.
Those behaviors were factors in a majority of the 213 deaths so far this year on OPP-patrolled roads.
The busiest highway in our region – Highway 400 – was the scene of a few minor crashes that caused some big slowdowns. At about 1:30 p.m. today just north of Highway 88, a two-vehicle accident in the southbound lanes brought traffic to a halt for about an hour. There were no serious injuries.
It was one of a few minor accidents that slowed down the drive on the 400 today.
Further north, a crash on a side road near Orillia sent three people to hospital this morning. The two-car crash happened this morning at the 15th line of Oro-Medonte and Bass Lake Road.
Three people were taken to Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in Orillia with what appeared to be minor injuries.
“The roads were wet,” says OPP Sgt. Larry Faulkner. “It would appear that the silver car went through the stop sign and t-boned the brown car.”
There's no word at this point on charges.
Impaired driving has been another problem this weekend. In Barrie, a man is facing three charges after an accident that left some damage along a residential street.
Police say a 20-year-old man lost control of his car on Grove Street early this morning near Barrie North Collegiate. It crashed into a curb, and drove over a bus sign. Police also say he took off from the scene and tried to report his car as stolen. The charges against the man include driving with over the legal blood alcohol limit.
And police say the driver of a vehicle pulled over in Bradford yesterday is now facing a charge of having too much alcohol in his blood. The 47-year-old man from Richmond Hill was stopped at a ride check yesterday afternoon. His SUV was impounded for seven days and his license suspended for 90 days.
Meanwhile, a Toronto resident is facing a criminal charge tonight in a crash that shut down part of Highway 11 near Gravenhurst yesterday. Police say it was around 9 a.m. yesterday morning when the driver was going the wrong way in the northbound lanes, south of Gravenhurst.
Three vehicles heading north got into crashes trying to avoid the vehicle. Two women and one child were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The driver has been charged with dangerous driving.