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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 18 ,2 02 0 | 4 Visit atlascare.ca or call 1-833-682-0033 This past week, it has been heartwarming for me to see us begin to adapt to our 'new normal' as many of us in Ontario expand our social circles and resume doing some of the things we've missed. My kids finally got to socially distance with their grandparents after many months and our family was thrilled. We have all worked hard to get here, and it feels good as summer rolls in. Still, COVID-19 has not gone away and we must remain vigilant. Some customers have asked if AtlasCare will change our safety procedures now that we're seeing a gradual loosening of restrictions. I have assured them that for the health of our customers, our employees, and all of Ontario, we will continue to follow the same strict procedures including health screening of staff and customers, diligently sterilizing our tools and vehicles, wearing full PPE while in customer's homes and practicing physical distancing. This will be our standard operating procedure for a very long time as we continue to work together to ensure Canada fully overcomes this virus. Michael Grochmal, PresidentMichael Grochmal, President As things begin to open up, we remain vigilant of crashes has dropped considerably in the GTA and the Central Region ar- ea, which includes Halton. He noted there were 3,332 crashes in January, 3,440 in February and then 1,567 in March and 943 crashes in April. It should be pointed out that this reduction could be partially explained by weather and road condi- tion improvements be- tween February and April. COVID-19's impact on traffic did have a negative side. With fewer cars on the roads, Sgt. Ryan Snow of the Halton police Traffic Services Unit has noticed increased speeding local- ly. "That seems to be pret- ty consistent at this point," he said. "Traffic volumes are starting to pick up a bit more. You can start to see your daily slowdown on the QEW in the afternoon. As things trend back to normal, increased traffic density will mean less op- portunity for people to speed." Snow has taken to so- cial media in multiple vid- eos aimed at educating people during the CO- VID-19 crisis about the penalties they could face if they are caught speeding or stunt driving. While speeding may be up, Snow said Halton po- lice have not seen an in- crease in serious injuries or deaths as a result. He said between Janu- ary and May 2019, there were five road fatalities and 16 serious traffic colli- sions that resulted in life- altering injuries on Hal- ton roads. During the same period in 2020, police saw one road fatality and 17 seri- ous traffic collisions. "The difference be- tween a serious injury and a fatality can be a very minute difference in how the crash plays out," said Snow. "The fact is we are not seeing much of a differ- ence year over year when it comes to the level of the crashes we are seeing." Snow said vehicle colli- sions involving pedestri- ans and cyclists have also stayed about the same as they were during this peri- od in 2019, with 22 inci- dents reported in Halton during the first quarter of 2020. What has changed is more people are being charged with driving at excessive speeds. Between January and the end of May 2020, Snow said 135 people were charged with stunt driv- ing in Halton. The same period in 2019 saw 99 stunt driving charges issued. "We have seen a 35 per cent increase in stunt driving charges," said Snow. "In all likelihood, there is an aspect of that that is happening though re- duced traffic density due to people being at home as a result of COVID-19. How- ever, there could be other factors, such as the weath-factors, such as the weath-f er being more conducive in some people's minds to engaging in that sort of be- haviour." Snow said one thing to watch out for is that, as traffic levels return to nor- mal, something that likely won't happen until after the summer, there will be a certain percentage of the driving population who may have difficulty ad- justing to the new reality. He says this period will be like when snow falls for the first time and some members of the public for- get how to drive in winter conditions. "People are going to have to take into account that they have to share the road and that perhaps some of the things they may have done when there was less traffic density are not going to be possible or safe if done when there are a lot more vehicles on the roadway," said Snow. "As traffic density in- creases, the likelihood for a collision to result from someone's bad judgment is going to increase as well." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: While a major drop in Halton-area colli- sions is certainly good news, police are concerned about a rise in speeding and worry that crashes may spike back up when motorists have to readjust to increased traffic. NEWS Continued from page 3 VIDEOS AIM TO EDUCATION PUBLIC ON DANGERS OF SPEEDING "As traffic density increases the likelihood for a collision to result from someone's bad judgment is going to increase as well. "Sgt. Ryan Snow, Halton Police Traffic Services Unit