The OPP have released some grim statistics regarding traffic-related deaths.
Police say there was an increase in the number of on-road, off-road, marine and pedestrian deaths in 2016.
There were 276 fatal motor vehicle collisions on OPP-patrolled roads last year, with a total of 309 people killed. By comparison, there were 262 fatal vehicle collisions in 2015, killing 301 people.
Pedestrian fatalities in OPP jurisdiction also increased in 2016, with 38 deaths last year, compared to 25 in 2015.
Off-road vehicle deaths spiked significantly, with 23 deaths investigated by the OPP last year, compared to 14 in 2015.
Police say 16 people died in snowmobile incidents in 2016, which is up from 13 in 2015.
Marine-related fatalities were also up, with 21 people killed in motorized and non-motorized boating incidents, compared to 18 deaths the previous year.
"The OPP is truly saddened that Ontarians appear to have steered fatality numbers in the entirely wrong direction in virtually all traffic-related categories last year," says OPP Deputy Commissioner Brad Blair. "This is a wake-up call to drivers, passengers and pedestrians to adopt much safer behaviours in 2017 -- a critical factor in reducing the number of preventable deaths on and off our roads."
Early data suggests that driver inattention, speed, alcohol and/or drugs, and lack of occupant restraint - known as the "Big Four" - were factors in a high percentage of road deaths last year.
