With an increase of almost 9% in 2022, the number of road fatalities has reached a ten-year high, laments the latest edition of the Sûreté du Québec road report.
“This is very concerning,” said Acting Commander of the SQ’s Traffic Network Security Unit, Paul Leduc. We work hard on prevention on our side, but the key to all of this is the driver. If the driver doesn’t follow our strategies and doesn’t take over, there’s nothing we can do about it.
Photo Archive Special Collaboration, Steve Gauthier
Three young men died in October in this accident at Saint-Robert, 15 km from Sorel-Tracy, in Montérégie.
No fewer than 291 people died in a road accident in 2022. We’ll have to go back to 2012 to find an even worse toll with 320 road casualties.
Ditto for fatal collisions, while last year there were 266, a record for 10 years.
Blame the post-pandemic
Part of the explanation could be found in drivers’ behavior after the pandemic, Commander Leduc believes.
“There is more crime among drivers. I notice an increase in car chases and speeding. As if at the end of a pandemic we find ourselves behind the wheel and want to rebel,” explains the man who has been committed to road safety for decades.
He points out that a study would be needed to confirm his hypothesis.
The top three causes remain the same year after year: speeding (32%), impaired driving (15%) and distraction (9%).
- Listen to SQ’s Paul Leduc interview on The Richard Martineau Show via QUB radio :
The third of the dead without a belt
In addition, almost a third of traffic victims were not wearing their seat belts, despite the warning devices that are now installed in most vehicles.
But in the face of this “apparent relaxation” of the population, Captain Leduc refuses to see only the negative.
“The most meaningful measure is the number of victims per 100,000 inhabitants,” he explains. And in Quebec, we have about five deaths per 100,000 people, making us the second best in Canada and the best in North America.
In addition, the results have improved significantly compared to the previous generation, according to the Sûreté du Québec. 30 years ago there were far fewer vehicles on the roads and far fewer licensed drivers. However, the number of deaths has been exponential.
“There are several factors that can explain this, like the improvement in the road network and vehicles, but I think people have understood things and are more aware than before,” said Commander Leduc, who hopes to see on the eve of his retirement Watch as that sense of empowerment grows in the years to come.
Really more than in other years
year | death | Fatal collisions
- 2022 | 291 | 266
- 2021 | 265 | 245
- 2020 | 250 | 231
- 2019 | 232 | 216
- 2018 | 252 | 237
- 2017 | 268 | 243
- 2016 | 260 | 240
- 2015 | 274 | 244
- 2014 | 238 | 216
- 2013 | 283 | 265
Source: Surete du Quebec
The regions Most Affected through collisions deadly
- Abitibi-Témiscamingue and North-du-Québec: 14
- Motorway rest stops*: 18
- Bas-Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine: 25
- Saguenay – Lac Saint Jean and North Shore: 26
- Capitale-Nationale – Chaudière-Appalaches: 27
- Monte control: 32
- Outaouais Laurentians: 38
- Estrie – Center du Quebec: 41
- Mauricie Lanaudiere: 45
Source: Sûreté du Québec * Areas covered by Metropolitan Police such as Montreal
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