The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) has released its interim report on fatal traffic collisions for the year 2020. Across the territory served by the SQ, which excludes roads patrolled by municipal police forces, there were 228 fatal collisions in 2020 compared to 217 in 2019. However, the 2020 amount is still below the five-year average of 236 fatal collisions.
The 2020 report shows that the main cause or 29 per cent of fatal collisions was reckless driving and speeding. Distracted driving caused 14 per cent of fatalities, and impaired driving caused 10 per cent of fatal collisions. Nearly 20 per cent of victims who died due to collisions on SQ-patrolled roads in 2020 were not wearing seatbelts.
In 2020, the SQ responded to 52 fatal motorcycle collisions which resulted in 54 deaths. The number of motorcycle fatalities was greater than the five-year average of 41.
The interim report states that 18 pedestrians and six cyclists were killed in collisions under SQ jurisdiction in 2020. The five-year fatality average for pedestrians is 21 and the five-year fatality average for cyclists is six.
Fatal road collisions under SQ jurisdiction in the Laurentides and Outaouais regions decreased from 40 in 2019 to 20 in 2020.
In the Montérégie region, there were 20 fatal road collisions under SQ jurisdiction 2019, and there were 25 fatal road collisions in 2020.
The SQ Autoroute Service, which patrols highways in major cities, responded to 13 fatal collisions in 2020, a decrease of five from 2019.
