Safe Summer Driving

Summer holidays are here, and Nova Scotia motorists are being reminded to drive safely.

Nova Scotia's road safety advisory committee and police agencies are launching a series of checkpoints named Operation Road Safety, from Thursday, July 1 to Sunday, July 4, in an effort to convince drivers to obey speed limits and drive defensively.

"We want drivers to think about safety, and be aware that speeding puts their lives and the lives of others at risk," said Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron Russell. "The police checkpoints are an effective way of sending this message to drivers across the province."

Operation Road Safety is expanding on the success of the annual Operation Christmas checkpoint, which targets impaired driving during the holiday season. Operation Road Safety checkpoints, which will be held quarterly, will create awareness about various road safety issues for drivers, motorcyclists and bicyclists.

"This important initiative has the full support of all municipal and provincial police chiefs," said chief superintendent Tom Bennett of the RCMP, on behalf of the Nova Scotia Chiefs of Police Association. "We share common goals, such as increasing seatbelt use, reducing excessive speed and stopping impaired drivers."

The Operation Road Safety program helps the province and police work toward reaching benchmarks set by Road Safety Vision 2010. Road Safety Vision 2010 is a national plan to reduce the number of road users killed and seriously injured by 2010.

Nova Scotia's road safety advisory committee helps government develop road safety priorities and programs. The committee includes members of non-profit organizations, government, industry, police and others.