Windsor police are joining other police services across the province this week to help battle distracted driving.
The 2019 Drive Safe! Campaign is a province-wide initiative designed to help keep our roads among the safest in North America.
This year's theme is "Distracted Driving Ruins Lives. Drive Safe!"
Windsor police will be promoting the campaign and enforcing road safety all week, including through the coming holiday long weekend.
Police said road safety is a shared responsibility and driving is a privilege.
"Drivers must give their full attention to driving safely and to obeying the rules of the road," said police in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon. "Pedestrians are reminded that they need to be fully aware, at all times, of the movement of vehicles in their vicinity and all vehicles, including bicycles, must follow the rules of the road at all times."
Police added bicycles are vehicles and cyclists have the same rights and duties as drivers.
"Drivers engaging in text messaging on a cellular phone are 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision, or near collision, compared to non-distracted drivers," said Inspector Andrew Randall, who oversees the Windsor Police Traffic Enforcement Unit.
Officers will also be on the road looking for impaired driving whether by alcohol, drug, or a combination.
Research has shown that texting while driving is six times more likely to cause a crash than driving under the influence of alcohol. Police said a shocking 80 per cent of all collisions and 65 per cent of near collisions have some form of driver inattention as a contributing factor.
According to the Canadian Motor Vehicle Traffic Collision Statistics, 2017, there were 1,841 motor vehicle fatalities and 9,960 serious injuries due to vehicle collisions across Canada and in most cases, these tragedies were preventable.
Windsor police are reminding the public that certain traffic concerns can be reported online at www.police.windsor.on.ca/services/reporting/Pages/Traffic-Complaints.aspx.