October 11 marks the beginning of Operation Impact 2024. From October 11 to 14, Nova Scotia RCMP will join police forces across Canada to focus on reducing behaviours that put drivers, passengers, and other road users at risk.
Each year, motor vehicle collisions kill about 2,000 Canadians and injure another 165,000, with 10,000 of those injuries being serious or life-altering. Many collisions are not 'accidents,' they are often the result of a conscious decision an individual driver has made. The main causes of death on Canadian roads are impaired driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving, and not wearing a seatbelt, all of which can be prevented or mitigated.
This year, the message to Canadians from Operation Impact 2024 is, "Don't risk lives with bad driving behaviours. Safety is literally in every driver's hands."
Over the four days of Operation Impact 2024, police officers from Nova Scotia RCMP plan to educate about and enforce safe driving behaviour around the province. Drivers can expect to see a variety of proactive opportunities which will allow police to remove impaired drivers from roadways and ensure compliance with other safe driving practices.
Operation Impact 2024 coincides with Thanksgiving because there tends to be an increase in traffic during long weekends and holidays. Nova Scotia RCMP asks motorists to plan ahead to ensure safe travel to and from Thanksgiving celebrations.
If you see a driver who is an immediate threat to road safety, call 911 and pass the following information along, if possible:
- A description of the vehicle and driver;
- A licence plate number;
- The direction the vehicle is travelling.
Operation Impact is led by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) in support of Canada's Road Safety Strategy 2025, which has a goal of making Canada's roads the safest in the world.