Ontario Road Safety Annual Report 2004

Highlights

Ontario has the safest roads in North America for the second year in a row, based on a comparison of fatality rates in all Canadian and US jurisdictions. In 2004, both the total number of fatalities on Ontario's roads and the fatality rate per 10,000 licensed drivers in Ontario reached their lowest level ever.

The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) collects data on the collisions occurring on Ontario's roads each year from collision forms filled out by police services across the province. Other ministries and the Office of the Chief Coroner also provide input. This information is critical in tracking trends as the ministry works with its community partners to further improve road safety. A safe and efficient transportation network is key to Ontario's continued prosperity in the 21st century.

What is ORSAR?

The Ontario Road Safety Annual Report (ORSAR) is a comprehensive yearly review of road safety figures and statistics for the Province of Ontario. Since 1931, the province has collected major road safety statistics, tracking and recording long-term trends in road safety in this province, including:

• Fatalities and injuries among drivers, passengers and pedestrians
• Collision rates
• Statistics about collisions involving drinking and driving, speeding, novice and senior drivers, large trucks, etc.

This information provides a useful report card on the safety of Ontario's roads in comparison with other jurisdictions and helps MTO distinguish between short-term fluctuations and long-term trends in road safety. Identifying long-term road safety trends is the key to responding effectively to the most serious threats to the safety of people on Ontario's roads.

Key Road Safety Findings For Ontario in 2004

The two most common measures of road safety in North America are the number of fatalities for every 10,000 licensed drivers in a jurisdiction (fatality rate per 10,000 licensed drivers), and the number of fatalities per 100 million kilometres (km) travelled by motor vehicles (fatality rate per 100 million km).

Ontario's rate of 0.92 fatalities per 10,000 licensed drivers was the lowest in North America for 2004, down more than five per cent from 0.97 in 2003. Ontario's fatality rate per 100 million km also declined to 0.66, down seven per cent from 0.71 in 2003. The total number of fatalities from motor vehicle collisions in Ontario fell below 800 for the first time since 1950, to 799. The number of fatalities involving drinking and driving in Ontario also decreased, falling by more than 10 per cent from 217 in 2003 to 192 in 2004.

Based on the fatality rate per 10,000 licensed drivers, the safety of Ontario's roads ranked well ahead of those in our neighbouring jurisdictions of New York State (10th), Quebec (13th), Michigan (17th) and Ohio (18th).

ORSAR 2004 shows the considerable progress Ontario has made towards meeting our commitments under Canada's Road Safety Vision 2010, which calls for a 30 per cent reduction in the average number of fatalities and serious injuries from motor vehicle collisions by 2008-2010 (compared to the average during 1996-2000).

Road Safety in Ontario by the Numbers

Category	2004	2003	Percentage Change
Fatality Rate	0.92	0.97	- 5.2
Fatalities per 100 million km	0.66	0.71	- 7.0
Number of licensed drivers	8,655,597	8,541,555	+ 1.3
Number of motor vehicles	7,698,416	7,603,372	+ 1.3
Number of fatalities	799	831	- 3.9
Number of major injuries	3,565	3,848	- 7.4
Number of major injuries	29,918	30,401	- 1.6

Number of Fatalities and Licensed Drivers, 1980-2004

Data in table format

Number and Rate of Major and Minor Injuries, 1981–2004

Data in table format

Enhancing the Safety of Children and Youth on Our Roads

Children Injured and Killed in Motor Vehicle-Related Collisions

Category	2004	2003
Children 0–4 Killed	0.92	0.97
Children 0–4 Seriously Injured	0.66	0.71
Children 5–9 Killed	8,655,597	8,541,555
Children 5–9 Seriously Injured	7,698,416	7,603,372

Ontario has a proud tradition as a national leader in road safety. In 1976, our province was the first jurisdiction in North America to make wearing seatbelts mandatory. In 1982, Ontario was the second Canadian jurisdiction to enact a child safety seat law. In 1994, Ontario introduced North America's first comprehensive Graduated Licensing System to address the high rate of injuries and fatalities in motor vehicle collisions among novice drivers in our province.

At the same time, motor vehicle collisions continue to be the single leading cause of unintentional injuries and deaths among children and youth in Ontario and across North America. That is why MTO made improving the safety of the most vulnerable group on its roads - Ontario's children and youth - its top priority in 2004.

Bill 73, An Act to Enhance the Safety of Children and Youth on Ontario's Roads, 2004, received Royal Assent on December 9, 2004. This Act targets three specific areas to improve safety for Ontario's youngest travellers:

• Requiring drivers* to use an appropriate infant/child safety seat or booster seat when transporting children in motor vehicles
• Improving the safety of children who ride to and from school on school buses
• Setting passenger limits for teenage G2 drivers.

* Some exemptions apply for drivers of taxicabs and for-hire vehicles.

This legislation will play a crucial role in saving lives and reducing injuries among children and youth in this province.

"Boosting" the Safety of Children in Motor Vehicles

Childcare advocates have called children between four and eight the "forgotten" children - too big to travel in a child safety seat but too small to use a seatbelt properly. With the passage of Bill 73, Ontario law now requires all child caregivers, not just parents, to use a child safety seat or booster seat when transporting children up to age eight in motor vehicles. Drivers convicted of failing to use, or improperly using, one of these seats will receive a fine and demerit points on their driver's licence. With this law, Ontario becomes the second jurisdiction in Canada to make booster seats mandatory.

In order to make parents and other caregivers aware of this new law, booster seats figured prominently in Ontario's annual spring and fall 2004 seatbelt safety campaigns. About 50 child safety seat clinics were held across Ontario during the spring seatbelt campaign alone. MTO also helped produce and distribute "Boost Me Up", a video presentation on booster seat safety to public health units and agencies across Ontario. To further promote the changes to Ontario's child safety seat laws, MTO continued to emphasize child safety in motor vehicles in our public education campaigns and public events through 2004 and into 2005.

Improving Safety Around School Buses

About 700,000 students commute by school bus every day of the school year in Ontario. In 2004, there were 54 injuries among school bus passengers and no fatalities.

An Act to Enhance the Safety of Children and Youth on Ontario's Roads, 2004, includes two measures to improve the safety of Ontario's school children when they are most vulnerable — getting on and off their school bus.

Vehicle owners can now be charged if their vehicle is observed illegally passing a school bus that is stopped with its red lights flashing. Charging vehicle owners, as well as drivers, will reinforce the fact that ignoring school buses as they are loading or unloading children is a serious offence.

MTO will continue to support public education on this issue through annual campaigns including Ontario's School Bus Safety Week. The ministry expects the number of drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses in Ontario to drop significantly.

In addition, all new school buses must be fitted with a pedestrian safety-crossing arm to keep children out of the bus driver's blind spot. Pedestrian safety crossing arms, which physically stop children from crossing immediately in front of the bus where the driver cannot see them, will prevent incidents where children are tragically struck by their own school bus as they cross the street

Helping Young Drivers Become Safe Drivers

In 1994, the Graduated Licensing System (GLS) took effect across Ontario. Between 1994 and 2004, the number of drivers aged 16 to 19 years killed in motor vehicle collisions fell by more than 20 per cent, from 49 in 1994 to 38 in 2004. The number of injuries among young drivers also fell by 30 per cent during the same period, from 4,487 in 1994 to 3,140 in 2004. altogether, the number of fatalities and injuries among youth aged 16 to 19 years old from motor vehicle collisions has fallen by more than 30 per cent over the past decade, from 9,978 in 1994 to 6,847 in 2004.

Number and Rate * of Drivers Between 16 and 19 Killed and Injured, 1990-2004

* number of injuuries and fatalities per 10,000 licesed drivers
Data in table format

Nevertheless, young Ontarians continue to face the greatest risk of death or injury on Ontario's roads when they become drivers themselves. GLS was designed to reduce this risk by increasing the restrictions on inexperienced drivers and gradually easing these restrictions as new drivers demonstrated, through driver testing, that they were capable of driving safely. But driver testing alone cannot completely mitigate the increased collision risk that young and inexperienced drivers face on our roads.

Since GLS was introduced in Ontario, MTO has identified the number of teenage passengers in a vehicle as a particular risk factor for teenage drivers. That is why An Act to Enhance the Safety of Children and Youth on Ontario's Roads, 2004, gives MTO the authority to make regulations prohibiting teenage G2 drivers from carrying more than one young passenger in a motor vehicle driven between midnight and 5:00 a.m. during the first six months that they hold a G2 licence. After six months, and until the driver earns a full G licence or turns 20, a teenage G2 driver may carry only three passengers aged 19 or younger. Our goal is to reduce the distractions caused by young passengers during the hours when teenage drivers are typically less focused on driving. This measure is designed to balance safety and mobility considerations and is not meant to prevent teens from using their vehicles to carpool to school or work. In addition, the restriction on young passengers does not apply when the teenage G2 driver is driving young family members.

This passenger restriction is a targeted response to a clearly identified safety risk and will have a real, measurable effect on the road safety of young drivers in Ontario. It will also reduce the number of injuries and fatalities from motor vehicle collisions among teens in our province. In all, 31 jurisdictions across North America have enacted some sort of passenger restriction for teen drivers.

Tightening the child safety seat requirements, making booster seats mandatory, making it easier to enforce Ontario's school bus stopping laws, requiring pedestrian safety crossing arms on new school buses, and reducing the distractions caused by passengers in vehicles driven by teenage G2 drivers — coupled with public education initiatives such as iDRIVE — will all contribute to real improvements in the fatality and injury rates among children and youth in Ontario in the coming years.

Planning for Ontario's Future

Improving passenger safety and driver behaviour on Ontario's roads is only one aspect of MTO's efforts to ensure greater road safety in 2004 and beyond.

In 2004, the number of licensed drivers in Ontario grew from 8,541,555 in 2003 to 8,655,597. The number of registered motor vehicles on Ontario's roads also increased — from 7,603,372 to 7,698,416 — including a 4.5 per cent increase in the number of large trucks registered in Ontario.

These figures represent a long-term trend towards more drivers and vehicles on Ontario's roads each year. Since 1980, the number of licensed drivers in Ontario has increased by 73 per cent. although the number of fatalities from motor vehicle-related collisions fell 47 per cent during this period - from 1,508 in 1980 to 799 in 2004 - MTO's efforts to improve road safety and reduce motor vehicle fatalities and injuries must take the growing number of motor vehicles and drivers on Ontario's roads into consideration.

At the same time, Ontario's transportation system is vital to Ontario's economic prosperity and quality of life: about $1.2 trillion worth of goods are transported on Ontario's roads and highways. Much of what we value - our jobs, health, education and family life - is affected by the quality and availability of transportation. Ontario's export-driven economy relies on its transportation system to keep people and goods moving efficiently and competitively across Ontario and our borders, particularly in the current climate of just-in-time delivery.

Improving and Expanding Public Transit

Road safety research has shown that increasing public transit ridership can lead to significant improvements in road safety and public health. Through investments such as providing a share of Ontario's gas tax revenues to municipalities in 2004, Ontario's government is making public transit a viable alternative to the car by improving transit convenience, flexibility and accessibility.

Municipalities' share of the gas tax in 2004/05 amounted to an additional $156 million for transit improvements across Ontario. This funding (increased to $232 million in 2005/06), helped municipalities increase transit ridership and service, purchase new equipment, and better maintain their existing vehicle fleets. The province will eventually turn over more than $1 billion from the gas tax to Ontario's municipalities over five years for public transit in addition to regular provincial transit funding.

MTO also announced nearly $3 billion in funding for public transit in partnership with the Government of Canada and local municipalities in 2004, including:

• $1 billion to expand and renew public transit in Toronto, plus $90 million to strengthen the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)
• $1 billion to improve GO Transit services in Southern Ontario
• $600 million to support Ottawa's O-Train project
• $150 million for bus rapid transit in York Region.

We expect these investments, with the additional funding provided by the dedicated gas tax funding program, to produce real improvements to public transit services.

Improving Critical Transportation Infrastructure

MTO is responsible for more than 16,500 kilometres of highways — more than the highway networks of either Great Britain or Sweden — in addition to 2,500 bridges. Maintaining the safety and efficiency of one of North America's largest highway networks presents a singular challenge for the ministry.

Ontario's infrastructure investments need to address both the physical safety and design of the province's roads, and improve efficiency and reduce traffic congestion. Our goal is to reduce the number of fatal and injury-causing collisions on the province's roads while ensuring that MTO's infrastructure investments represent good value for Ontario's taxpayers.

MTO plays a key role in carrying out the government's plan to increase investments in Ontario's transportation infrastructure. The year 2004 saw investments of over $1 billion in highway infrastructure projects across the province to ease congestion, improve trade and promote economic competitiveness, including:

• Four-laning Highway 69 between MacTier and Parry Sound
• Four-laning Highway 11 between Trout Creek and South River
• Constructing a new Highway 17 alignment east of Sault Ste. Marie
• Widening Highway 8 from the Kitchener-Waterloo Expressway to Fergus Avenue
• Reconstructing Highway 420 through Niagara Falls
• Improving Highway 7 from Fowler's Corners to Omemee.

In addition, MTO upgraded the physical safety of Ontario's most highly travelled highways, including Highways 400, 401, 427, 7/12 and the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW).

Improving Access and Efficiency of Border Crossings

Our border crossings are vital to Ontario's economic well being. In 2004, Ontario's two-way trade with the United States (US) totalled $332 billion, more than 74 per cent of which travelled across Ontario's international border by highway. MTO estimates that more than $700 million worth of goods cross the Ontario-US border by highway daily.

However, since September 11, 2001, increased security at border crossings has become a major concern for MTO in terms of both public and road safety. The Ontario government is also concerned about the impact that congestion at border crossings has on Ontario's economy. Long line-ups at the border back up traffic in Ontario communities, block roads, and increase congestion and gridlock along side streets, which can threaten the safety and quality of life of both motorists and pedestrians in those communities. Similarly, time spent waiting in queues to cross the border not only costs Ontario in lost productivity and trade but also affects road safety as drivers attempt to make up for time lost at the borders.

The Intelligent Transportation Systems initiative, which MTO rolled out in 2004, is a first step towards a lasting solution to traffic congestion at our international border crossings. New video technology installed at border checkpoints will speed the flow of traffic through these crossings. MTO and its partners are proceeding on schedule to identify a single preferred access road, inspection plaza and river crossing at the Windsor-Detroit border by mid-2007 through an environmental assessment process. This represents an important first step towards improving the flow of traffic at Ontario's busiest border crossing, while reducing congestion and the impact of border traffic on communities in the Windsor area.

Ontario also partnered with the federal government and a number of border stakeholders to make significant investments to improve highways and roads in border zones, and develop long-term strategies to improve border traffic in 2004. Significant projects included:

• The Canada-US-Ontario-Michigan Border Transportation Planning/Need and Feasibility Study, plus a similar study of the Niagara frontier fully funded by MTO
• Let's Get Windsor-Essex Moving Strategy, which included $300 million from Ontario and Canada for improvements to the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, construction of a pedestrian overpass on Huron Church Road, an extension of the left-hand turn lane at Huron Church and Industrial drive, and other improvements
• $115 million for improvements to and around the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia, including construction of a truck lane on Highway 402 from Airport Road to the bridge
• $166 million for improvements to the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge and area, including adding a fifth lane to the bridge itself and a truck lane to Highway 405 from the QEW to the bridge.

These projects represent MTO's long-term commitment to finding better ways to manage the approximately 35.6 million passenger vehicles and 8.5 million large trucks that passed through Ontario's border crossings in 2004, thereby improving traffic conditions and reducing congestion on Ontario's roads.

Facing Ontario's Road Safety Challenges

In 2004, the number of fatalities on our roads fell in nearly all major categories. We also expect that MTO's achievements in 2004 - including the passage of An Act to Enhance the Safety of Children and Youth on Ontario's Roads, 2004; Ontario's record investment in public transit; and a commitment to renewing and improving Ontario's transportation infrastructure - are expected to pay significant road safety dividends in the coming years.

Even with these successes, there are still critical road safety challenges that must be addressed.

Large Trucks

The number of fatalities resulting from collisions with large trucks rose slightly from 155 in 2003 to 158 in 2004, an increase of 1.9 per cent. However, the long-term trend of fewer collisions involving large trucks in Ontario continued as the fatality rate per 100,000 large truck registrations declined by 2.4 per cent in 2004.

Number and Rate * of Fatalities in Large Truck Collisions; Large Truck Registrations, 1990-2004

* number of fatalities per 10,000 large truck registrations
Data in table format

Statistics from 2004 showed that about 65 per cent of large truck drivers involved in fatal collisions were driving properly at the time of the incident. In response, MTO reminded the general public that large trucks require more time and space to stop safely than passenger vehicles through our changeable message system and updates to Ontario's driver handbooks. Improving public knowledge about how to safely share the road with large trucks is a step towards eliminating the majority of collisions between passenger vehicles and large trucks.

MTO is a leader in truck safety standards and enforcement. Ontario conducts more commercial vehicle inspections than any other province. In 2003/04, MTO enforcement officers conducted 146,611 commercial driver and vehicle inspections and 797 facility audits of commercial carriers' records. In 2004, Ontario continued to be the only jurisdiction in North America to impound large trucks found to have critical safety defects.

MTO will continue to ensure that its commercial carrier safety programs remain among the best in North America. This includes strengthening our commercial vehicle enforcement program by providing technology and timely information to inspectors and auditors to focus their efforts in the right locations and on chronic violators. We are also enhancing regulations to address commercial driver fatigue and to improve daily vehicle inspections.

Ontario's Aging Population and Senior Drivers

ORSAR 2004 shows that, while the casualty rate among drivers aged 65 and older per 10,000 licensed drivers continues to decline, the total number of casualties involving these drivers is on the rise as the number of drivers aged 65 and older continues to grow in Ontario. The number of drivers in this group will increase dramatically over the next 25 years as Ontario's "baby boomers" enter their 60s. Addressing the issue of road safety for older drivers will take on an even more significant role in MTO's future road safety planning.

Number and Rate * of Drivers Aged 65 and Over Killed and Injured, 1990-2004

* number of fatalities per 10,000 licensed drivers
Data in table format

In 2004, MTO received the results of a review of the Senior Driver Group Education Session (GES), the cornerstone of MTO's Senior Driver Licence Renewal Program for drivers aged 80 and older. MTO has moved forward with the report's recommendations, including making improvements to GES curriculum and content, facilities, staff training and education materials.

Increasing Pedestrian Safety

Partly in response to the number of pedestrian fatalities in 2003, MTO participated in several pedestrian safety campaigns across Ontario in 2004, including campaigns in Niagara Region, Ottawa, Chatham and Toronto. The 13.3 per cent drop in the number of pedestrian fatalities - from 120 in 2003 to 104 in 2004 - shows public education does heighten awareness and increase pedestrian safety. Unfortunately, pedestrians continue to account for one in almost eight of all motor vehicle fatalities in Ontario. In addition, the number of pedestrian fatalities occurring at intersections increased from 50 per cent in 2003 to 56 per cent in 2004.

In response, Ontario made pedestrian safety a key priority of The Transportation Statute Act, 2005, which received Royal Assent on November 21, 2005. This Act increases fines for various offences at pedestrian crossings, including school crossings and pedestrian crosswalks at traffic lights; introduces demerit points for drivers convicted of offences at school crossings and harmonizes the number of demerit points for offences committed at all pedestrian crossings at three points. These new fines and demerit point penalties are intended to increase drivers' awareness of pedestrians and reinforce the need for drivers to drive with caution in areas including pedestrian crossings.

In addition, infrastructure improvements such as replacing street level railway crossings with bridges, building more pedestrian overpasses and continued public education will play an important role in safeguarding pedestrians in Ontario in the future.

Motorcycle Safety

Between 1988 and 2004, the casualty rate per 10,000 registered motorcycles in Ontario declined by 69 per cent. While this decline and the fact that the number of motorcycle fatalities in Ontario fell from 52 in 2003 to 47 in 2004 are positive signs, MTO is concerned that the number of injuries increased by 3.6 per cent during the same period, from 1,355 in 2003 to 1,404 in 2004.

MTO has also observed that rising gas prices have led to an increase in the popularity of more economical and environmentally-friendly vehicles. Accordingly, MTO wants to ensure that, as Ontarians expand their mobility options to include more motorcycles, limited-speed motorcycles (motor scooters) and mopeds, they have the skills necessary to safely operate these vehicles and share the road with other vehicles and pedestrians. That is why MTO launched a review of its motorcycle licensing program in 2004. As a result of this review, MTO introduced a new restricted motorcycle licence for moped and limited-speed motorcycle (motor scooter) drivers in 2005. The restricted M licence, along with a specific road test for moped and motor scooter drivers, will increase the skill and safety of Ontario's motorcyclists.

Sharing Our Environment - Collisions with Wild Animals

In Ontario, the number of collisions that involve wild animals has increased during the last decade, from 7,564 in 1995 to 13,707 in 2004. In 2004, there were eight fatalities and 726 injuries resulting from collisions with wild animals on Ontario's roads.

To reduce the number of wildlife collisions, MTO is:

• Installing fencing along major highways
• Installing more signs warning drivers of the potential of wildlife crossing the highways.

MTO has also created a new brochure, "Watch for Wildlife - Tips to Reduce Your Collision Risk" that will be distributed to Ministry of Natural Resources offices, schools, Ontario parks, police services, road safety groups and public health units throughout the province.

While it may not be possible to completely eliminate collisions with wildlife on our roads, we hope that these steps will reduce the number of fatalities and injuries caused by wildlife collisions.

Drinking and Driving

In 2004, Ontario had the lowest alcohol-related fatality rate, not only in Canada but all of North America. In fact, since 1988, the number of drinking and driving-related fatalities in Ontario has dropped by 56 per cent. In 2004, the number of fatalities fell 11.5 per cent - from 217 in 2003 to 192 - the lowest number ever recorded. Still, drinking and driving is responsible for about one quarter of all fatalities on our roads. Drivers who choose to drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs still present a serious challenge for Ontario and jurisdictions across North America.

Number and Rate* of Drivers Aged 65 and Over Killed and Injured, 1990-2004

* number of drinking driver fatalities per 10,000 licensed drivers
Data in table format

These results demonstrate that anti-drinking and driving programs supported by the Government of Ontario - Ontario's Holiday RIDE program, the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Red Ribbon campaign, the Ontario Community Council on Impaired Driving's (OCCID) annual Drive Sober Campaign - have been successful at getting the message across that drunk driving will not be tolerated in Ontario.

Continuing to educate drivers, MTO launched iDRIVE in 2004, a program aimed at raising awareness among students and young drivers of the risks and consequences of unsafe driving, particularly drinking and driving. MTO partnered with OCCID, Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID), and the Student Life Education Company to produce and distribute iDRIVE. About 1,800 copies of the program were distributed to schools across Ontario in 2004 and an additional 2,200 copies were available for the beginning of the 2005/06 school year.

Ontario's current anti-drinking and driving measures are some of the toughest in North America, including:

• An immediate 90-day driver's licence suspension for drivers who have a blood alcohol content of more than 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or who refuse to give a breath sample
• Mandatory "Back on Track" alcohol education and treatment remedial measures program, which must be completed before a driver's licence can be reinstated
• Vehicle impoundment for drivers caught driving while suspended following a driving related conviction under the Criminal Code of Canada
• An ignition interlock program as a condition of having a driver's licence reinstated after a drinking and driving conviction.

Between 1998 and December 31, 2004, Ontario issued:

• 4,806 lifetime driver's licence suspensions
• 86,825 mandatory remedial measure program notifications
• 157,303 automatic 90-day driver's licence suspensions
• 141,627 driver's licence suspensions for convictions under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Since initiating the Ignition Interlock program in December 2002, 887 interlock devices were installed in vehicles in Ontario in 2003, and another 1,517 were installed in 2004. MTO has also impounded more than 7,442 vehicles driven by drivers whose licences were suspended for a Criminal Code conviction.

While these programs represent a significant deterrent to drinking and driving, MTO continues to work with police across the province to make enforcing Ontario's impaired driving laws easier by giving police services direct access to MTO's driver and vehicle databases from their patrol vehicles, beginning with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in 2004.

MTO will continue to explore new opportunities to counter drinking and driving and improve driver behaviour in Ontario. In particular, we will continue to reach out to younger drivers through programs such as iDRIVE that stress the message that there is no place for drinking and driving on Ontario's roads. At the same time, MTO will also continue to work with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, the Ministry of the Attorney General, the police, and other road safety partners, to ensure the successful enforcement and prosecution of impaired driving offences.

Seatbelts

Transport Canada's Rural Seatbelt Study, conducted in 2004, found that 87.9 per cent of drivers in rural Ontario used their seatbelts. While this figure is higher than the result of the 2002 study (85.1 per cent) and slightly higher than the national average (86.9 per cent), these results suggest that nearly one million Ontarians still do not wear their seatbelts when driving. At the same time, about one third of all drivers and passengers killed in motor vehicle collisions were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the collision. It is a fact that seatbelts save lives and that is why MTO will continue to make seatbelt use a major focus of its public education campaign, during Ontario's annual fall and spring seatbelt campaigns, and throughout the year.

Tomorrow's Safer Roads

The picture of road safety presented in ORSAR 2004 is positive. Overall, there were fewer fatalities on our roads and Ontario continued its general trend towards fewer fatalities per 10,000 licensed drivers in all major categories. However, a population that is both aging and growing presents MTO with a number of road safety challenges, which must be addressed.

As the number of vehicles on our roads continues to increase, MTO will be considering:

• Trucks and buses:
  • Continuing to act as a North American leader in the area of truck safety, modernizing Ontario's commercial vehicle enforcement program
  • Reviewing issues such as Ontario's daily vehicle inspection requirement, to ensure both truck drivers and their employees thoroughly understand and complete the required inspections before taking these vehicles onto our roads
  • Exploring further opportunities to improve truck driver training in Ontario to ensure that only the very best trained drivers are licensed to operate large trucks on our roads
  • Improving driver behaviour and the physical safety of large trucks in Ontario through tougher penalties and higher fines for offenders
  • Working with the Ministry of Education to consider various improvements to school bus safety.
  
  
• Public transit:
  • Countering congestion by continuing to make public transit funding a priority
  • Moving ahead on the planned Greater Toronto Transportation Authority to ease gridlock and passenger flow across the various municipal transit systems in the GTA
  • Countering congestion through the introduction of the first provincial highway High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes for use by transit vehicles and other vehicles with at least two passengers.
  
  
• Pedestrians, seniors and smaller vehicles:
  • Improving driver education for seniors and motorcyclists, two groups that experienced an increase in the number of injuries in 2004 resulting from collisions
  • Exploring possible improvements to the ministry's Senior Driver Licence Renewal Program, such as conditional licensing, to ensure that Ontario's aging driver population continues to be both safe and mobile
  • Monitoring the fatality and injury rate for motorcyclists while reviewing Ontario's motorcycle licensing program to accommodate limited-speed motorcycle (motor scooter) and motor-assisted bicycle (moped) drivers, and improving the overall quality of motorcycle driving in Ontario.
  
  
• Impaired Driving:
  • Strengthening the penalties for repeat drinking and driving offences by studying jurisdictions around the world that have had particular success in addressing drinking and driving on their roads, and identifying solutions that might be applicable to Ontario
  • Working with Ontario's police services to develop an enforcement strategy, appropriate sanctions and countermeasures to address the emerging problem of drug-impaired driving in Ontario.
  
  
• Public education:
  • Launching enhanced province-wide public education in 2005 to ensure parents and drivers understand the new measures in the Act to Enhance the Safety of Children and Youth on Ontario's Roads, 2004.

Bill 169, The Transportation Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005

The province is maintaining its commitment to creating a safe, effective transportation system for the 21^st century in Ontario, by introducing Bill 169, the Transportation Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005. This Act, which was introduced in the Ontario Legislature on February 21, 2005, and received Royal Assent on November 21, 2005, focuses on three key areas - improving road safety for all road users, strengthening public transit and easing congestion on our roads. The ongoing implementation of the Transportation Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005, continues to play a central role in MTO's activities in 2006.

As the measures contained in the Transportation Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005, come into effect, Ontario will:

• Make a Safer Transportation Network For All by:
  • Improving the daily inspection standards for large trucks, trailers and buses
  • Creating an offence under the Highway Traffic Act (HTA) for flying vehicle parts
  • Increasing fines for speeding 30 to 34 kilometres per hour (km/h) over the speed limit and allowing the courts to impose longer driver's licence suspensions for repeat offenders convicted of speeding 50 km/h or more over the limit
  • Doubling fines for speeding in construction zones when workers are present
  • Giving all municipalities the authority to set the speed limit at 30 km/h where traffic calming measures are in place
  • Making it an offence for drivers to disobey a traffic slow and stop sign
  • Enhancing safety at school and pedestrian crossings by increasing minimum fines and harmonizing the number of demerit points assigned to drivers convicted of not stopping or yielding the right of way at these crossings
  • Clarifying the requirements for drivers to stop and wait for pedestrians and crossing guards
  • Permitting firefighters to act as traffic control persons, so they may direct traffic at emergency scenes, and allowing firefighters to travel on closed roads in their personal vehicles when responding to emergencies
  • Allowing residents of Northern Ontario to use studded tires to improve winter driving safety
  • Cracking down on illegal taxis, and
  • Strengthening MTO's oversight of driver education providers to better protect consumers and promote road safety across the province.
    
• Create a Transit System for the 21^st Century by:
  • Giving MTO the authority to designate Bus Bypass Shoulders (BBS) to allow specific transit buses to bypass congestion
  • Providing the means to better enforce the legitimate use of carpool lots to support the High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane program and the use of public transit, and
  • Improving transit commute times by allowing transit vehicles to pre-empt traffic signals to lengthen a green light or change a red light to green sooner.
  
  
• Ease Congestion for All Road Users by:
  • Designating and enforcing the proper use of HOV lanes to encourage carpooling
  • Amending the HTA to clear vehicles and debris from the highway faster by clarifying police powers to remove or order removed vehicles and debris from a highway to ensure the orderly movement of traffic or to prevent injury or damage to people or property
  • Authorizing the Minister of Transportation to designate restricted border approach lanes
  • Improving the collection of transportation data to assist MTO in planning future transit and highway improvements, and
  • Allowing MTO to pilot test Variable Speed Limit Systems on freeways in Ontario and new and emerging vehicle technologies on Ontario's roads.

Conclusion

Over the past five years, Ontario's roads have consistently ranked the safest or among the top three safest jurisdictions in North America, based on a comparison of fatality rates per 10,000 licensed drivers. At the same time, there is always room for improvement.

To make the road safety improvements that Ontarians both expect and deserve, MTO will continue to build strong and effective working relationships with industry stakeholders, public health professionals and community groups across the province. We will also continue to work closely with our partners in all three levels of government, particularly the Ministry of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services (including the OPP), the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the Ministry of Health Promotion and Ontario's municipalities and municipal police services.

In 2004, An Act to Enhance the Safety of Children and Youth on Ontario's Roads, the Provincial Gas Tax Program, and investments in transportation infrastructure and borders again put Ontario at the forefront of road safety and mobility in Canada. The measures contained in the Transportation Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005, build on these successes by promoting both further improvements to the safety of our roads and a more efficient transportation system overall. MTO's commitment to programs and policies such as these will deliver real and measurable change in our province and help to build a safer, healthier, more prosperous future for all Ontarians.