Tuesday marked the beginning of Canada Road Safety Week, a 7-day national campaign aimed at making Canada’s roads the safest in the world.
Chatham-Kent Police Service officials say this annual awareness campaign is designed to increase public compliance with safe driving measures in order to save lives and reduce injuries on Canada’s roads.
The focus of this campaign continues to be on behaviours that put drivers, passengers, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users at risk, police officials say.
Despite the fact that most drivers claim to be aware of the laws and regulations related to impaired driving, distracted driving and aggressive driving, many do not appear to fully understand the various behaviours that define each of these infractions and, if they do, some continue to break the rules.
This is why this year’s campaign theme is about ‘Shifting Gears’.
Police officials say they are encouraging Canadians to “think differently” about problematic driving behaviours by broadening their understanding of the rules.
Police say they are also inviting people to acknowledge the bad habits they may not have realized they had and to “change their driving behaviours” accordingly.
While traffic on Canada’s roads may be reduced due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for Canada Road Safety Week remains relevant, police officials say.
Anecdotally, some police services have seen an increase in the number of impaired driving, speeding and road racing incidents in their communities, which is not a trend the Chatham-Kent Police Service wants to see across the country, officials say.
“During this pandemic, public safety issues are on everyone’s mind,” stated Jim Lynds, traffic sergeant for the Chatham-Kent Police Service, in a media release.
“We ask that you practice social distancing while driving your car by keeping a safe distance between cars as well as in person to assist in saving lives on our roadways.”
The Chatham-Kent Police Service is proud to be participating in this year’s Canada Road Safety Campaign, police officials say.
While this public safety initiative is part of a national effort to help advance Canada’s Road Safety Strategy 2025 to make Canada’s roads the safest in the world, police officials say they are confident that their local efforts will help make the roads here in the Chatham-Kent community among the safest in Canada.
