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Ottawa police say stunt driving and people taking the wheel while impaired are partly to blame for a surge in deadly collisions on Ottawa’s roads.
This past Wednesday, a woman died after being hit by a vehicle in Barrhaven and a man was killed in a rural east Ottawa crash, the 31st and 32nd traffic-related deaths this year, according to police.
That’s the most casualties Ottawa has seen on its roads in more than a decade, soaring above the 22 reported fatalities in 2025.
The steep increase is the result of several factors, including a rising number of stunt drivers and impaired drivers, said Sgt. Josh Callaghan, head of Ottawa police’s road safety unit.
“We’re seeing an increase in distracted driving on our roadways, speeds increasing on our roadways and just in general people [showing] a lack of care for one another,” he said.
As of Sept. 19, police data showed there had been 23 reported fatal collisions, a 77 per cent uptick from last September.
While Ottawa police told CBC the number of overall collisions as of Sept. 19 has remained similar to last year, they believe distracted driving is behind the increase in deaths. (Data including October’s crashes is not yet available, they added.)
Callaghan said he recently pulled over a distracted driver who was watching Buffalo Bills highlights behind the wheel.
“We need to limit those distractions,” he said. “Police can’t be everywhere all at once, so let’s make sure we use the roadways properly, abide by the rules and share the responsibility of road safety.”
According to Ottawa Safety Council team lead Kim Kimbell, safe driving habits have deteriorated over time, with many people caring less about the rules of the road.
Kimbell said she once watched nine cars zip through an intersection while school crossing guards were still in the middle of the road.
“This is someone’s child crossing the roadway,” she said. “And the guards are somebody’s mother, sister or brother.”
Tips for staying safe
Callaghan urges drivers to stay off their phones and focus solely on the road — a rule that applies for pedestrians too.
“When we’re walking across roadways, we need to make sure we have all of our senses and everything at our disposal to make sure that we’re safe and that other people are safe,” he said.
“[Fatal collisions] are absolute tragedies. And in my opinion, they’re avoidable.”