Ontario Provincial Police are recognizing 50 years of Ontario’s seatbelt laws in the most OPP way possible: a long-weekend road safety blitz.
Officers will be watching to make sure everybody is properly buckled in, especially the kids in the back.
Despite a half-century of it being the law, police say they still see too many traffic fatalities involving people not using their seatbelts.
“I’m sad to say that nearly one in four road fatalities officers investigate still involve someone who was not wearing a seatbelt,” said OPP Sergeant, Ed Sanchuck in a video posted to social media
In 2025, there were 41 deaths on OPP-patrolled roads where the individual was not buckled in. Last year, the OPP laid 13,560 seatbelt charges.
Fines for not wearing a seatbelt start at $200 all the way up to $1,000 and will cost people two demerit points.
Long weekend weather
The long weekend forecast from Environment Canada isn’t showing any weather that would have an impact on drivers, aside from the potential for heavy downpours on Saturday.
But the weather is likely to impact outdoor plans. It looks like an ‘April greatest hits’ list with Friday temperatures that could reach 20 C with scattered showers. Saturday’s rainfall will give way to a significant temperature drop on Sunday, down to the low single digits.
Easter Monday is expected to see similar temperatures but also a risk of flurries.
