Calls for caution are increasing at the dawn of the National Day long weekend, which each year marks the launch of summer, but also the start of the “75 deadliest days on the roads of Quebec”. Focus on the current portrait and the best practices to keep in mind for the holiday season.
This is the number of people who lost their lives on the province’s roads, on average, over the last five years, from 2018 to 2023, between the Saint-Jean-Baptiste weekend and the weekend of Labor Day in September. The Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) recorded for the same period an average of 383 serious injuries and more than 7,230 people in accidents in total, including minor injuries. During the National Day weekend alone, an average of six people lost their lives over the past five years, in addition to 19 seriously injured.
Everything is not dark. The most recent road report shows a rather encouraging improvement. There was recorded a drop in road deaths of almost 20%, or 93 deaths in 2023 compared to 116 in 2022. However, the balance remains fragile to say the least, especially in certain regions, including Saguenay–Lac-Saint -Jean, where 13 of the 24 deaths occurred last summer. In Montreal too, 9 of the 31 deaths occurred during the summer season, or nearly 30% of them. Other regions such as Mauricie, Lanaudière, Estrie and Chaudière-Appalaches also present worrying results.
No less than 57% of Quebecers plan to spend their summer vacation without leaving the province, revealed a recent CAA-Quebec survey in early June. “We can therefore expect the roads to be very busy, especially in August,” says the organization’s spokesperson, David Marcille. “We really need to continue to be extra careful. Unfortunately, individual responsibility and courtesy are not present enough on our roads. Everyone is pointing the finger at each other a bit, even though we are looking for the same objective: to have a better record,” he notes.
Like every year, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) will strengthen security in several regions, particularly on highways, starting this weekend. The SAAQ, for its part, invites motorists to apply the five fundamental principles of safe driving: respect speed limits, avoid distractions, do not drive after consuming alcohol or drugs, drive rested and exercise courtesy and caution at all times. If necessary, consider public transport, taxi or escort services, insists the company.
In the office of the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, it is indicated that the road safety action plan adopted this spring “aims in particular to remind Quebecers that we are all part of the solution.” This plan aims in particular to increase fines for offenses against pedestrians and cyclists, to reduce speed in school zones and to increase the number of photo radars. “We will continue our actions during the summer period to ensure that we avoid as many accidents as possible on the roads of Quebec,” assures the cabinet, in turn calling for extreme vigilance.
