Thanksgiving holiday driving report

The Sûreté du Québec released its report for driving infractions committed over the Thanksgiving holiday, between Oct.11-14.

Officers intensified their interventions on the road network to ensure the safety of users during the high traffic period on Quebec roads.

Throughout the weekend, SQ officers issued more than 7,100 tickets, including more than 4,900 speeding tickets; speeding being the leading causes of fatality or injury in collisions. In addition to speeding and reckless driving, the behaviours targeted were non-use of seat belts, impaired driving and cell phone use while driving.

Across the province, three people lost their lives in as many collisions during the long weekend. Last year one person died.

A total of 127 collisions with injuries occurred this year in the territory served by the Sûreté du Québec, compared to 100 last year.

During the 318 roadside checks carried out in the province, police arrested 92 people for impaired driving ability due to alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two, which corresponds to 10 more arrests than last year.

For the Estrie-centre-du-québec region, 1,238 tickets were issued and 14 people were arrested for driving with impaired ability.

There was one death in the revion this year. A person was killed in a collision involving a road vehicle in Saintsamuel. Last year there were no road vehicle deaths in the region.

Operations deployed during long holidays are aimed at reducing the number of casualties on our roads. It is essential to continue police action, combined with the dissemination of awareness messages encouraging road users to adopt more responsible driving, thereby reducing the number of collisions, injuries and deaths.

The main causes of collisions are often related to the human factor. Drivers must adopt responsible behaviour to make Quebec's roads safer.