Litter leads to many highway crashes: MTO
TORONTO — Highway debris was a factor in over 20,000 crashes in Ontario between 2000 and 2006, according to the Waterloo Region Record.
Numbers obtained by the newspaper from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation show there were 20,369 incidents resulting from road litter and more than 3,600 people were hurt and 125 killed.
Soon-to-be former OPP Sgt. Cam Woolley told the paper that police and MTO personnel have removed everything from car parts, to TVs, to full-length boats from the highway. Boxsprings are especially common.
Not surprisingly, road gators — detached truck tires — are also problematic because they can get stuck under smaller vehicles or flung into following cars.
An OPP team is devoted to the debris problem in the GTA, while a ministry contractor patrols the highways and responds to police requests.
Woolley said Ontario’s 400-series highways are notorious for debris-related crashes.
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