What’s the cause of car accidents in Oakville? You

Thousands of lives are lost each year across Oakville roads because of car crashes. The most common cause of accidents in Oakville is human error. Ata Khan is a professor at Carleton University, specializing in road safety and environmental factors in transportation. He says statistics confirm that human error is responsible for 70% to 90% of road accidents.

Nana Joseph is a 40 year old woman who was involved in a car crash on Trafalgar Road a few weeks ago. “It was snowing and the car in front of me stopped suddenly, I tried to stop my car but it slipped because of the snow and hit the front car,” Joseph said. She was hospitalized with hand and head injuries. Her car was badly damaged.

The most recent incident was a two-vehicle collision in the Town of Erin on Trafalgar Road, north of Highway 124. It happened last Sunday. The driver of the car was declared dead at the scene.

Ryan Anderson, an officer with Halton Regional Police, says a lot of collisions in Oakville occur on major roads like Trafalgar Road.

“The most common reasons for collisions in Oakville would be the same as across Ontario or across Canada and those would be distracted driving and speed,” Anderson said.

Anderson added nother big reason for car crashes is the use phones during driving.

“We have phones in a car with us and we getting text messages and listening music,” Anderson said.

Driving carefully can help you avoid being in an accident.  “Roads are busier than ever before,” Anderson said.

What can governments do to reduce the number of accidents in Ontario?

• Improve driver and pedestrian education

• Improve road and traffic control for non-automated driving.