Month-long enforcement leads to over 200 charges, thousands in fines

Police hit the ground running in January, carrying out a city-wide blitz targeting several key issues in the nation’s capital, resulting in hundreds of charges laid.

Officials said that the month saw multiple enforcement programs that were focused on high-risk driving and improving safety on Ottawa roadways. During the four-week program, police caught stunt drivers, commercial vehicle violations, suspended drivers, and those not wearing seatbelts.

“Road safety is a shared responsibility — every choice behind the wheel matters,” officials said.

Jan. 4 to 10: Speeding and stunt driving

Officials were across the city, in the communities of Kanata, Stittsville, Findlay Creek, Manotick, Barrhaven and Orléans. They were focused on speeding and laid several other charges of the 81 offences, including:

• Speeding and stunt driving
• Driving while suspended
• Distracted driving
• Seatbelt violations
• No insurance and expired plates

Jan. 11 to 17: Commercial vehicles and snow

Ottawa police were looking at commercial vehicles and tow enforcement during a week that saw several snowstorms. As a result, they also reminded more than 90 drivers to turn on their headlights and clear snow from their vehicles. Something officials say “significantly reduce collision risk.”

Dozens of offences were laid including:

• 48 provincial offence charges laid
• 3 criminal charges
• 7 commercial vehicle inspections
• 2 vehicles removed from service for safety concerns
• 1 stolen vehicle recovered
• 1 wanted individual arrested

Jan. 18 to 24: Seatbelts and distracted driving

In Orléans and Barrhaven, two areas of the city that have been the focus of several other police blitzes, officers were focused on seatbelts.

Distracted driving was another area where police said they made several charges for people holding a handheld device. 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.

• Orléans: 28 charges laid, including handheld device offences, speeding, and suspended driving
• Barrhaven: 35 charges laid, including nine handheld device offences resulting in over $5,400 in fines, as well as red-light violations and unlicensed driving

Jan. 25 to 31: All of the above

To conclude the month-long operation, officials were focused on several south Ottawa communities. There, they wanted to remove people who were holding cell phones or not wearing seatbelts.

They issued 35 notices including:

• Nine hand-held device offences
• Seatbelt violations
• Unlicenced
• Suspended driving
• Insurance-related offences
• Along with additional charges for speeding, red-light violations, and unsafe driving behaviours

Officials said that two drivers were suspended and more than $5,400 in fines were issued.