OPP nab driver filming themselves and Ottawa speeder
Posted May 15, 2026 12:29:36 PM.
Last Updated May 15, 2026 12:29:40 PM.
Provincial police are ramping up their annual road safety week ahead of the long weekend and caught two Ottawa drivers disobeying the rules of the road.
The first incident happened on Highway 417, where a police officer saw the driver filming themselves on May 15. Officials said they stopped the driver who had their phone propped on the steering wheel while on the highway. They face a $615 fine, three demerit points and a three-day driving suspension upon conviction.
In Ontario, a driver using a phone is four times more likely to crash than a driver focusing on the road, according to the province’s website. This results in one person being injured in distracted driving every half an hour.
Hours later, a driver from Ottawa was stopped in Horton Township, near Renfrew, for speeding.
OPP said the 24-year-old was going 130 km/h in a 90 km/h zone. He has been suspended on two separate occasions, police detailed.
As a result, the vehicle was impounded for seven days, and he faces five Part III Summons at a future court date.
This comes as OPP head into one of the busiest long weekends of the year for driving.
With warmer weather on the way and the first holiday in several weeks, many people are out on the roadways. Police are urging those to drive with caution, saying officers are patrolling more than 130,000 kilometres of roads.
“Speeding, alcohol/drug impairment, driver inattention and lack of occupant restraint were linked to a significant number of last year’s 344 fatalities,” police said in a release.
Canada Road Safety Week runs until Victoria Day on May 18.
