City of Ottawa officials are hoping to crack down on aggressive and distracted driving this month as the two high-risk driving behaviours historically cause more fatal and serious crashes than any other factor during the month of August. Read MoreStatistics collected by the city show that aggressive and distracted driving “are consistently the most significant causes of these collisions several months of the year.”
Statistics collected by the city show that aggressive and distracted driving “are consistently the most significant causes of these collisions several months of the year.”
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City of Ottawa officials are hoping to crack down on aggressive and distracted driving this month as the two high-risk driving behaviours historically cause more fatal and serious crashes than any other factor during the month of August.
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Statistics collected by the city show that aggressive and distracted driving “are consistently the most significant causes of these collisions several months of the year.”
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Between 2019 and 2023, the city stated in a news release, 61 per cent of collisions resulting in fatalities and major injuries involved factors like speeding, tailgating, cutting off other drivers, refusing to yield right-of-way, running red lights and excessive lane changes or “weaving” through traffic.
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The Evening Citizen
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Passing too close to cyclists and stopping on a pedestrian crosswalk at an intersection are also considered aggressive driving under Ontario traffic laws.
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There have been a number of serious incidents involving drivers striking cyclists and pedestrians in recent weeks, with some Ottawa councillors calling on the city to consider banning right turns on red lights.
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City officials highlighted a number of “countermeasures” to discourage speeding and aggressive driving, including narrower lanes and roundabouts on major roads and other traffic calming measures — speed humps, narrowed streets and curb extensions — for residential areas.
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The city is also touting the success of its automated speeding cameras, with data showing that more drivers are complying with posted speed limits on streets where those cameras are present.
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According to an Aug. 5 news release, 81 per cent of drivers now comply with posted speed limits three years after the cameras were implemented. City data showed only 16 per cent were complying with posted speed limits prior to the cameras being installed.
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Compliance rose to 57 per cent within three months of the cameras being installed, and it rose to 69 per cent after one year.
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The city said high-end speeding — motorists travelling more than 15 km/h above the speed limit — has also decreased sharply in areas monitored by speed cameras.
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Prior to installation, 14 per cent of drivers were high-end speeders, according to the data. That ratio dropped to four per cent within three months and to two per cent after one year.