Small increase in traffic charges laid in eastern Ontario, data shows

Speeding, seatbelt infractions and distracted driving rose in 2024 in eastern Ontario according to new data by police.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) released its annual report, which details the force’s efforts over the previous calendar year and showcases trends across specific communities in the province.

The nation’s capital and the surrounding region are in the eastern portion of the province, and according to OPP, this consists of the communities as far west as Belleville, stretching to the border with Quebec. Officers in the east region patrol almost to Mattawa in the north.

“In 2024, patrol hours increased by more than 10% over 2023. This included aircraft, all-terrain vehicle (ATV), bicycle, foot, marine, motorcycle, snowmobile and cruiser patrol,” the report notes.

The increase in patrolled hours by officers could have an impact on the number of charges laid.

Last year, officers in the east region laid 28,451 speeding charges, a 281 increase from the year prior. Seatbelt infractions also rose slightly from 1,665 charges to 1,777.

One example of this is when an OPP officer pulled over a driver for speeding through a construction zone on Highway 416 shortly before 2 a.m. on Sept. 30, 2024.

While the posted speed limit in the area was 80 km/h, the driver was caught travelling at 122 km/h, wrote the OPP in a post. When the officer approached the vehicle, they noticed a young child in the back, laying across the back seats, sleeping without a seatbelt.

Charges included drive while passenger under 16 fails to properly wear a seatbelt, which carries a $240 fine and two demerit points, and the speeding charge cost the driver $317 and four demerit points, but if construction workers were present the fine would have doubled.

There were 141 more charges laid for distracted driving in the east region in 2024 than in 2023, the report shows.

In April 2024, Leeds County Detachment OPP partnered with the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) in a two-day enforcement blitz targeting the use of cellphones and other devices while behind the wheel.

In total, 46 traffic violation with distracted driving make up the largest percentage of the charges.

Impaired driving was the only one of the “big four” to see a decrease in charges laid. The big four refers to the major high-risk driving behaviours that OPP try to target during enforcement because they are the reasons for most major serious and fatal collisions.