TORONTO, Ont. — By helping to reduce drinking and driving, cracking down on street racing, improving school bus and truck safety, and other activities, Ontario’s road safety partners have helped to make the province’s roads among the safest in North America for 11 years running.

Latest statistics show that Ontario has consistently ranked among the safest jurisdictions in North America, with 0.87 road fatalities per 10,000 licensed drivers second only to the Northwest Territories.

In fact, Ontario’s roads have actually gotten safer over time. Over the past 10 years, the number of licensed drivers on the province’s roads increased more than 22%. During the same period, the number of traffic fatalities dropped 20%.

“Even with more people and vehicles on our roads than ever before, Ontario has maintained an excellent road safety record year after year, thanks in part to the contributions of our road safety partners and today we are acknowledging their outstanding work,” said Transportation Minister Jim Bradley.

However OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said that despite Ontario’s ranking, the death toll on the province’s roads is still too high.

“Although it’s gratifying to know that the excellent work the men and women of the OPP are doing 24 hours, seven days a week, is paying off, still too many people are dying on Ontario’s highways. We will continue to crack down on aggressive drivers, those who speed, motorists who insist on drinking and driving and those who don’t buckle up. Our goal is to make Ontario’s roads the safest anywhere,” Fantino said.