Sault Police traffic clampdown shows increase in intersection accidents, trailer offences

Sault Police, at a news conference held at the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service building Monday, presented results of a three-month clampdown on a variety of traffic offences in the city.

A special traffic unit, beefed-up to five officers from two from Feb. 12 to May 29, in marked and unmarked police vehicles, had their eyes peeled for a wide range of traffic problems.

Much of the discussion at Monday’s news conference focused on offences involving vehicles hauling trailers, currently a hot topic of discussion among the public.

“People had the impression we were picking on anybody with a trailer (but) that’s not the case,” said Sgt. Ray Magnan of Sault Police Traffic Services.

Police displayed several photos of trailers towed by over-stressed chains in danger of snapping and the trailers becoming detached, trucks carrying unsecured, unsafely stored debris (which could fly off in to the path of other motorists) and trucks carrying trailers with severely worn down, unsafe tires.  

Residents and city dump staff had reported their concerns about such trucks and trailers to police, Magnan said.

“One of the residents called me and commented there was more scrap on the side of the road then there is at the scrap yard from debris falling off these trailers as they’re going by. I thought that was an interesting observation,” Magnan said.

Fines involving trailers range from $110 to $500, dealt with at Provincial Offences Court.

Magnan said some motorists who were stopped by police did not know of regulations involving trailers, urging motorists to be aware of MTO rules.

The problem of unsafe vehicles and trailers, Magnan said, was tragically seen in a 2017 local fatal collision which involved a trailer which was overloaded, a motorcyclist killed as a result.

Traffic fatalities doubled from two in 2016 to four in 2017.

In terms of traffic offences overall, there was an increase of over 200 collisions in 2017 compared to 2016, and a 275 per cent jump in Highway Traffic Act charges laid during the three-month 2018 traffic blitz compared to the same period last year, Magnan reported.

“For a while, intersections have been a problem,” Magnan said.

“People keep pushing the limit, running a red light, rolling through the stop signs, and we saw a lot of that especially at the corner of Albert and Gore, a lot of people rolling through the stop signs and not even stopping at all, so that is my biggest concern with the whole project, and that’s why the most charges of all that were laid were the intersection charges.”

In the wake of the three-month clampdown between February and May, a permanent, expanded police unit, dedicated largely to traffic law enforcement (as well as such things as break-ins to vehicles) will be put into operation in the fall, Magnan said.

A news release issued by Sault Police Service Cst. Sonny Spina stated most collisions in Sault Ste. Marie take place between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

During the February to May traffic clampdown, police were also on the lookout for speeding, distracted driving, seatbelt offences and suspended drivers.

Police used specialized equipment and training designed to have a direct impact on road safety in the Sault, trained in areas such as Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), intoxilyzer training and commercial motor vehicle enforcement.  

Police used equipment such as the Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR), speed measuring devices and electronic ticket writers during the program.

Between Feb. 12 and May 29, Sault Police issued a total of 1,859 charges and warnings and towed 49 vehicles from city roads.  

Police issued the following:

• 94 charges for Distracted Driving

• 173 charges for speeding

• 75 charges relating to seatbelts

• 215 charges relating to intersections (such as fail to stop for stop signs or red lights)

• 279 charges relating to permits and validation stickers

• 180 charges relating to commercial motor vehicles

• 94 charges for suspended drivers

• 67 criminal code charges

• 69 charges that require a Provincial Court appearance such as Operating a Motor Vehicle without insurance, or operating an unsafe motor vehicle,

• 391 warnings or 72 hour notices to repair equipment or produce proper paperwork

• 222 charges for other Highway Traffic Act offences related to equipment or rules of the road