ROCKWOOD – Police charged over 50 drivers during a safety blitz here on Oct. 2, including two people charged twice in the same day for different infractions.
The safety enforcement initiative was conducted by members of the Wellington County OPP’s Traffic Management Unit, in response to concerns expressed by residents at a recent community meeting.
Police officials say officers targetted “aggressive and unsafe driving practices” such as speeding, disobeying stop signs and failing to obey crossing guards.
Utilizing marked and unmarked cruisers and a vehicle equipped with an automated licence plate recognition system, officers lad 54 charges, including:
- one for distracted driving (cell phone);
- two for driving without a license;
- three for driving while suspended;
- four for disobeying a stop sign; and
- 24 for speeding in a Community Safety Zone.
Police say one driver was charged in the morning for having an expired validation sticker and then again later that day for failing to stop for a stop sign.
Another driver was charged for speeding in a community safety zone and later in the day charged with distracted driving (using a cell phone).
“We want to say thank-you to the majority of drivers that make the conscious effort to drive safely,” said Wellington County OPP Sgt. Darryl Porterfield.
“It is disappointing however, to see so many hazardous driving offences occurring in a relatively short period of time. The majority of these offences occurred within community safety zones and in the vicinity of children headed to schools for the day.
“We all have a collective responsibility to ensure the safety of others by engaging in safe driving practices. We will continue to take enforcement action on those that do not share in that responsibility.”
