Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) reported an increase in dangerous driving behaviours last year over pre-pandemic numbers.
With less travelled roads due to the pandemic, officers saw a 23 per cent increase in stunt driving charges to 228 (compared to 185 in 2020), said the Police Report for 2021.
However, the number of speeding infractions decreased by 14 per cent (7,346) over the previous year (8,415).
Overall, dangerous operation violations decreased by 7 per cent from 2020, but remained 43 per cent higher than 2019.
Fatal collisions on DRPS-controlled roadways increased in 2021 to 21 (compared to 20 in 2020). There was a slight increase in impaired driving charges — 745 compared to 722 in 2020. An effective R.I.D.E. campaign during the holiday season removed 65 impaired motorists from the roads.
DRPS Traffic Services continues to follow the Durham Vision Zero Strategy, a region-wide road safety strategy led by DRPS and the Regional Municipality of Durham. Part of this strategy focuses on public education – several social media awareness initiatives were executed to raise public awareness about: community safety zones, school bus safety, impaired driving, adjusting driving to weather conditions and speeding.