There were fewer road deaths in Quebec in last year, according to Quebec provincial police — 253 compared to 268 in 2017.

The number of fatal crashes also went down, from 243 last year to 235.

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Sûreté du Québec (SQ) officials point out that speeding continues to be the main cause of car crashes.

“Even though the number of deadly collisions linked to speed went down from 76 in 2017 to 72 in 2018, excessive speeding still dominates the reasons people crash,” the force stated.

“Speed is one of the most likely causes of more than 30 per cent of crashes in 2018 — that’s one in three.”

Distractions behind the wheel, including cellphone usage, contributed to 11 per cent of fatal collisions in 2018, or about 25 crashes last year.

“This is despite the fact that the SQ gave out more than 9,000 tickets for using a cellphone behind the wheel,” the SQ said.

Impaired driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or a combination of the two continues to be an issue, according to the SQ, contributing to eight per cent of deadly crashes in 2018.

Deaths associated with people not wearing their seatbelts almost doubled in 2018, from 23 to 45 victims.

“Obviously, simply wearing a seat belt reduces how seriously you are injured if you are in an accident,” the SQ said.

The number of deaths in young people, aged 16 to 24, went down from 57 deaths in 2017 to 39 in 2018.

Contrary to popular belief, the SQ states the majority of deadly collisions in 2018 happened during the day, with almost two-thirds of accidents happening between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Officials note most of these collisions happened on Fridays.

“The principal cause of death remains the person behind the wheel. Drivers need to act safely in order to ensure Quebec’s roads are safe for everyone,” the SQ said.

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