As the Toronto Sun reported last week, the number of traffic fatalities dropped 30% from last year. Fantino is crediting Ontario’s restrictive new street-racing legislation passed earlier this year. OPP Sgt. Cam Wooley concurs, saying something must be working as this has been the first time in his 30 years that he’s seen a decrease this significant.

Unfortunately, the same article reports that a 27-year-old was caught speeding in a V-8 Aston Martin Vantage going 218 km/h on Hwy 407. This extraordinary incidence, along with others caught speeding 50 km and over, is interfering in Fantino’s goal of 0 fatalities, “It certainly does not have to be at the number it is at…I don’t call them accidents anymore. They are caused occurrences.”

From the torontosun.com:

He [Fantino] is right. You look at any of the ones [traffic fatalities] this summer and you usually find a reason — speed, alcohol, dangerous driving. The OPP see crazy stuff every day right here in the GTA. “We stopped four motorists for doing more than 50 km over the posted speed limit and in another situation, a young woman is fighting for her life in hospital as a result of a crash on Hwy. 404 where the driver was (allegedly) well over the posted speed limit and was racing,” said Fantino. “It’s one more example of the tragedy that results when someone shows complete disregard for the law, their own life and that of others on the roads.”

The article continues saying that Fantino is determined to lower traffic fatalities even more than the astounding 30% we’ve seen so far. This means a promise for:

…more enforcement, more tough love on the roads and more speeding tickets.

Since Section 172 of the Highway Traffic Act came on board last September, nearly one year ago, more than 7,500 drivers have been charged. “This is good legislation,” Fantino said in his release. “Traffic safety needs to be a joint effort among the police, the justice system and the driving public. We’re doing our jobs; we just hope the others will do theirs.”

Critics argue that the current statistics are skewed because of lower gas prices affecting driving habits of Canadians, meaning there are fewer cars on the roads so less chance of traffic fatalities. Fantino responded to this criticism by saying that they (the police) don’t see any less traffic.

So the question remains, is the crackdown on Ontario speeding laws and some of its harsh measures really affecting the public’s attitude towards speeding, or is this decrease in traffic fatalities just coincidence? As always, we would love to hear your comments.