Ontario Provincial Police Traffic Safety Program

The Provincial Traffic Safety Program (PTSP) is a proactive, sustainable approach to traffic safety directed at high-risk behaviours.

The focus of the program is to reduce injuries and save lives on Ontario's highways, trails and waterways.

The program incorporates high visibility, measurable outcomes, effective communications strategies, public education, stakeholder and community participation.

PTSP initiatives address occupant restraint, impaired driving and aggressive driving, as the majority of fatalities involve these three factors.

The program initiatives are adaptable to all levels, and support local, provincial and the overall national traffic safety strategy of Road Safety Vision 2010.

PTSP provides the foundation to deliver an intelligence-led approach to traffic safety strategies, and addresses variables that include traffic patterns (commuting, transient or long-weekend traffic), vehicle type and other anomalies such as border crossings.

All aspects of this new methodology will support the six Provincial and National Traffic Safety Strategies: Spring Seat Belt Campaign, Canada Road Safety Week, Operation Corridor, Operation Impact, Fall Seat Belt Campaign, Festive R.I.D.E. Program.

By implementing the Program's new methodology, focused resources are directed to address traffic safety issues, which are based on timely and accurate statistical information, ongoing analysis and relentless follow-up.

The following components make up the overall framework of the Program:

Traffic Safety:

• This is a broad-based concept that encompasses all facets of traffic and includes all highways, trails and waterways in OPP jurisdiction; pedestrian traffic, urban/rural issues, commuter traffic and cyclists all come under this umbrella.

High Visibility:

• This component addresses the need to meet the public's expectation of a professional, active and accessible OPP presence on our highways; violators who engage in high risk driving behaviour threaten the safety of all motorists and must be detected and dealt with by an active OPP presence.
  
  
• The new OPP black and white cruisers are a feature of this.

Results Driven Policing (RDP) - Intelligence Led:

• This model increases accountability levels in traffic management and the Program will complement various principles of the RDP model which are based upon reducing injuries and saving lives.

Professional Traffic Stop:

• Due to their direct contact with motorists, officers are in a strong position to influence driving behaviours, educate motorists and affect the current societal norm that accepts death and injury on our highways as the inevitable cost for the use of motor vehicles. Through this approach, OPP members will initiate a cultural shift away from the public's high-risk driving behaviours.

Criminal Traffic Interdiction - "Looking Beyond the Plate":

• All front-line members must look beyond the initial violation and take appropriate action when faced with inappropriate or criminal activity. This component is pertinent to the relentless pursuit of detecting and apprehending impaired and drug-induced drivers and removing dangerous criminals from our highways.

Cultural Change (Internal):

• Leadership, Supporting Structure, High visibility, and an Intelligence led approach will ensure the successful implementation of the principles of the Provincial Traffic Safety Program. It involves the right people in the right positions to be the champions of change in the area of traffic safety.

Partnership/Stakeholders:

• The program supports the requirement for broad stakeholder consultation and the development of partnerships in the delivery of traffic safety initiatives.

Data Integrity:

• Proper investigation, relentless follow-up and accurate reporting will ensure that traffic hotspots are identified in a timely and precise manner. Higher accountability levels in data integrity will enhance the effectiveness of the Program's methodology.

Planning Process:

• All planning in relation to the PTSP will be conducted based on an intelligence-led approach that focuses on reducing injuries and saving lives; targets and objectives will be focused on the Results Driven Policing Model and aligned with Business Planning priorities.

Measures/Targets/Objectives:

• Measures will be directly associated to the desired outcome and related to the focus of the initiative.

Black & White: Distinctly OPP
An Historical Perspective

It wasn't until early 1941 that the first marked patrol cars were brought into service by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). Previous to this, the OPP Motorcycle Patrol undertook all highway traffic enforcement.

During these early years of World War II, the acquisition of 45 new Chevrolet coupes was worth celebrating and the arrival of the fleet was documented in a series of photos taken outside Queen's Park, and at the CNE grounds. Also common was the celebration of the arrival of a new patrol car at detachment, with officer(s) posing proudly. A number of these photographs have been preserved in The OPP Museum's collection and act as testament to this important step the OPP took in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of its traffic enforcement program, as well as defining its identity as a provincial police service.

These first patrol cars were all-white vehicles, with a black hood. They were equipped with first aid kits, fire axes, fire extinguishers, safety flares, flasher lights and the innovative "Police Stop" lights on the right front fenders and the words "Ontario Provincial Police" in black lettering on the white doors.

During this time, the automobiles assigned to regular police duties in district headquarters and detachments remained unmarked in any distinguishable way as police cars. By the end of 1942, the OPP had 91 patrol cars, 70 unmarked automobiles, two station wagons and a service truck in service.

The provincial police fleet of cars increased from 205 in 1945 to 399 by the end of 1949. In this same year, the OPP re-introduced motorcycles to its traffic enforcement program. They continue to be an important tool for highway safety.

The general headquarters garage moved from Surrey Place to 178 Queen's Quay in Toronto in May 1947. It was from here that provincial constables from outlying districts would report to take possession of new police cruisers that were shipped directly from the manufacturers to the garage, where they were equipped for police duty. The cars assigned to highway patrol continued to be supplied as all-white vehicles, except for black hoods and now black fenders, while the detachment patrol cars for regular police duty, which until the mid-forties remained free of police markings, were delivered as all-black cars with white doors and quarter panels.

At this point, the doors of all cars bore the words "Ontario Provincial Police" and assigned unit number, preceded by the letter "P" for patrol cars on highway duty, or the letter a "U" for utility (later uniform) for detachment duty cruisers.

The Ontario public quickly accepted the use of distinctive black-and-white cars by the provincial police. Not only the cars, but also sometimes even the officers themselves were referred to as "black-and whites" as well as "provincials". Over the course of the decades, the various configurations of the black-and-white paint scheme on patrol cars came to be recognized as distinctly OPP.

In 1989, the OPP made the decision to move to an all-white cruiser with highly reflective blue and gold stripes. Up until 2007, Car 7-500 (displayed at OPP General Headquarters) represented the last of the black-and-white patrol cars used by the OPP. Car 7-500 is an 8-cylinder 1989 Chevrolet Caprice equipped with a radio system, safety equipment, lights and an upgraded suspension system. These are some of the features unique to cars produced for policing.

Also located at OPP General Headquarters is a 1941 Chevrolet Master Deluxe Coupe, Car 1. Purchased in 1972 and restored in 1973, it has been re-created as the original Car 1.

The earliest known original OPP vehicle is a 1931 Henderson motorcycle and is in the collection of and on display at The OPP Museum.

As of March 2007, OPP black and white cars will be back out patrolling Ontario's major highways and OPP-policed communities, adding higher visibility ad instant recognition to OPP general duty and traffic patrol.