How to survive the Labour Day weekend travel chaos

The Labour Day long weekend marks the unofficial end to summer and one of the busiest weekends of the year.

With vacationers looking to get out of town and students arriving for college and university, police say this weekend is one of the most dangerous on the roads.

"Some people just don't give each other the time or the space and sometimes things end up happening," says Const. Michael Mahon with the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP.

Provincial police will be conducting a traffic blitz this weekend targeting the so-called "big four": impaired driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving, and a lack of seatbelt use.

"We do run the speed traps, we have R.I.D.E. checks, there's LiDAR (laser speed detection) out," says Mahon. "We use everything in our toolkit that we can."

Police estimate traffic increases 20 percent over long weekends, meaning queues getting on and off the highways.

"Leave either early in the morning or after rush hour," says Julie Beun, director of communications with CAA North & East Ontario.

"If you're passing through Toronto there's three distinct rush hour times; between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., and 5 p.m. and 6 p.m."

CAA says this year they've seen a huge increase in the number of people travelling over long weekends by road, rail, and plane.

"If you are going to the cottage, consider looking at an alternative route," recommends Beun. "If you're having to go through the 400-series highways or anywhere north you might think about taking a longer route. It might take a bit more time but it might be worth the view."

Other recommendations from CAA include:

• Inspecting your vehicle before departure and topping up fluids.
• Checking brakes and tire pressure. Low tire pressure can result in lower fuel efficiency.
• Preparing a roadside emergency kit, including booster cables, flashlights, flares, water, and first aid supplies.
• Download movies from Netflix ahead of time to view offline.
• Program your GPS ahead of time and use apps like Waze to view accidents and slow downs.
• Take regular driving breaks, about every two hours.
• Rest if tired. Roughly two percent of fatal collisions involve driver fatigue.

"We just want to see everyone get where they want to go," says Mahon, "and we want to see them get there safely."