SARNIA Ont. (Feb. 7, 2005) — The Ontario Trucking Association says a host of safety measures proposed by the trucking group and other partners has significantly reduced crash rates on Hwy. 402 leading to the Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia, Ont.

A package of safety initiatives agreed to by OTA, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Bluewater Bridge Authority, has made the area safer for both commercial and passenger vehicles, OTA says.

In the first 6.5 months of 2004, OPP investigated a staggering 26 collisions involving cars and commercial transports in an area of westbound Hwy. 402 between the Bluewater Bridge and Airport Road, Sarnia. This compares with only six collisions following the introduction of the new safety measures in July 2004.

Such initiates include: Decreasing speed limits and adding oversized road signage on the westbound 402; signage indicating that motorists may experience back ups ahead, as well as portable signage activated when back ups were occurring. Also, enforcement and visibility by OPP officers was increased.

Investigators who reviewed the collisions in the first part of 2004, recognized that driver inattentiveness was a contributing factor, as were in some cases, excessive speed, carelessness and aggressive driving, to the collisions, OTA says.