La Sûreté du Québec says that human life remains at the center of its new road safety plan.
Revealed on Thursday, the provincial police announced their renewed strategy for the 2021-2026 period.
Titled under the acronym PISTE, the new guidance aims to improve road safety with a five-pronged approach: partnership, intervention sensitivity, technology, and evaluation.
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Chief Paul Leduc says that while the name of the strategy may be different, the goal remains the same: reduce the number of fatalities and near-fatal collisions on and off the road and in waterways.
This change will not be noticed by the everyday ‘safe driver’, Leduc says.
“The person who follows the speed limit will not see the difference,” Leduc said. “But those who do not respect the rules of the road, our presence will be felt.”
While deaths have declined over the past decade, the SQ has stalled when it comes to reducing troubling statistics according to provincial officials.
“We have come a long way,” Leduc said.
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Leduc says Quebec’s recorded road death figures are some of the lowest in the country with 223 deaths in 2021, a slight increase of one compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, more and more drivers are on the roads of Quebec.
Off-road vehicles such as ATVs and snowmobiles are a prominent new focus in PISTE’s new approach.
Since the pandemic, the force says it has seen an increase in accidents, with 232 this year so far this year, five more than last year and 18 more compared to 2019.
Leduc says that this new strategy is comprehensive and global.
As an example, when it comes to drinking and driving bites, instead of having two separate operations going on on the road and on the trails, now the Surete du Quebec will roll them out together.
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The strategy was largely inspired, Leduc says, by Montreal’s Vision Zero security plan launched in 2019.
“Vision Zero is not a slogan, it is an aspiration and a goal,” Leduc said.
The SQ says the new road safety strategy aims to work in conjunction with the Quebec Ministry of Transport, the auto insurance board and local police forces.
“We can no longer work in silos,” Leduc said.
The Sûreté du Québec says it plans to implement the new strategy by increasing interventions targeting the leading causes of death on Québec roads.
Speeding, distraction, and drunk driving remain the deadliest causes of accidents.
Provincial police say the media will help get the message across to drivers, as well as other technology outlets, by enforcing the rules of the road and making them known with increased awareness and prevention campaigns.
“Our motto is ‘Human life is at the center of our actions,'” Leduc said.
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