Sûreté du Québec 2021 road safety record: What happened to good behaviour?

News
Published on February 3, 2022

Earlier this year, Sûreté du Québec (SQ) released its annual road safety record for 2021. Data collected for the territory served by the SQ across the province shows a worrying increase in fatal collisions and deaths.

CAA-Quebec isn’t surprised to see that bad driver behaviour is once again at the crux of the problem. The SQ’s annual data shows a noteworthy increase in incidents in relation to the five-year average.

2021 in numbers:

  • 245 fatal collisions, up 14 over 2020
  • 262 deaths, up 12 from 2020
  • 6 cyclist deaths, the same number as in 2020
  • 23 pedestrian fatalities 

Marco Harrison, director of the CAA-Quebec Foundation and road safety expert, says that data like this is never good news, but admits he is not surprised. “At the start of the pandemic, the roads were empty because of the lockdown. Motorists just weren’t driving much, which may have contributed to a false sense of safety or dulled people’s driving reflexes.”

What are the main causes?

With these disappointing results, it also comes as no surprise to see that the main causes of fatal collisions and deaths haven’t changed.

  • Speeding and reckless driving (24.5%)
  • Driving impaired by alcohol, drugs, or fatigue (14%)
  • Inattention and distracted driving (7%)

Seatbelts: such a simple way to save lives

Even though seatbelt legislation is nearly 50 years old, SQ safety data shows that there are still far too many traffic fatalities caused by people failing to buckle up.  In 2021, just over 20% of the people killed in traffic accidents weren’t wearing a seatbelt. Yet it’s such a simple precaution to take. According to Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), 30 deaths and 75 serious injuries would be prevented every year if everyone buckled up.

Remember, it takes everyone driving responsibly to keep our roads safe.